: 






1 ■ i. .! J l ' ? -.:: ( 






>>'/;} 



■ 

to 









■ 



•U ti>,> 



I ; i 



■ 



Hi 



IB ^1 

I 

■ 







: ; i 



nv'. 



^m 



..«•:-. ■ 






' ,,!»!! 



■ 









■ 

I ■ 



«)!'«!':- ■ 



■1^^ 



rf 



I ! lii!:!!':;! 



HI 



"iii'ir 



■ ■ ■ 









mRU 



A GENERAL AND CONNECTED 

VIEW 

OF 

THE PROPHECIES, 

RELATIVE TO 
THE CONVERSION, RESTORATION, UNION, AND FUTURE GLORY 

OF THE HOUSES OF 

JUDAH AND ISRAEL; 

THE PROGRESS, AND FINAL OVERTHROW, 
OF 

THE ANTICHRISTIAN CONFEDERACY 

IN THE LAND OF PALESTINE; 
AND THE ULTIMATE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF 

CHRISTIANITY. 



BY THE REV. GEORGE STANLEY FABER, 1$. D. 

VICAK OF STOCKTON UPON-TEES. 



* At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stamleth for tlw; children bl thj 
people: unci tliere shall l>e a tune of ( rouble, such as never was since there was a nation even u 
' that same time ; and at that time thy people sliall be delivered." Dan. \ii. 1. 



BOSTON : 

PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM ANDHKWS. 
T. B. WAIT & CO. PRINTERS. 

1809. 



TO THE 
HON. AND RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN -GOD, 

SHUTE BARRINGTON, LL.D. 

LORD BISHOP OF DURHAM: 

MY LORD, 

1 o complete the plan of my Dissertation on 
the 1260 years ) there was wanting, a general and con- 
nected view of the various prophecies which treat of the 
wonderful events about to take place at the expiration of 
that period. Prevalent as the powers of darkness may 
be during their allotted season, they are destined to 
be at length destroyed. Their destruction will syn- 
chronize with the restoration of the Jews, and will 
usher in that glorious state of things so frequently and 
so exultingly described by the ancient prophets. The 
lost ten tribes will be united with the tribe of Judah ; 
and the blessings of pure Christianity will be veiy 
generally diffused throughout the world. Such, we 
are led from holy Scripture to believe, will be the 
magnificent close of the great period of 1260 years- 

Without presuming to inquire too curiously into 
the state of the millennian Church and the nature of 
the Messiah's earthly reign, it is not difficult to con- 
ceive, how materially the face of society would be 
changed, and how wonderfully the general condition 
of mankind would be meliorated, were the Gospel 



IV 

cordially embraced and faithfully acted upon, if not 
absolutely by all, yet by an incalculably great majori- 
ty. At present, to say nothing of the huge multitudes 
involved in the darkness of Paganism or the mists of 
Mohammedism, the greatest exertion of Christian cha- 
rity, the most laborious attempt to hope against hope, 
will leave no conviction in the minds of the truly seri- 
ous, that even in countries professing the religion of the 
Messiah the majority are faithful followers of their 
Lord. We are compelled to acknowledge, by the 
melancholy testimony of our very senses, that too 
many have a name that they live, and are dead ; that 
not merely lukewarmness and indhTerence and a disre- 
regard to the spirit of Christianity are prevalent, but 
that numbers, in consequence of their actual criminali- 
ty, can be distinguished from Pagans only by an appel- 
lation, in their cases, an empty geographical appellation. 
Now let us suppose this state of things to be reversed ; 
let us picture to ourselves either the whole, or nearly 
the whole, of mankind as being Christians not in word 
only, but in deed : and we may perhaps form some 
conception of the nature of the Millennium. What 
the narrow primitive Church was in spirit and in prac- 
tice, the immense millennian Church would likewise 
be. Behold how these Christians love each other, 
would again become a true remark. Where univer- 
sal affection prevailed, where selfishness was as much 
extinguished and evil lusts and passions were as much 
subdued as among the first believers, wars and dissen- 
tions, both public and private, would be no more. 
Where holiness of conversation, springing from grate- 
ful love to God through Christ, was predominant, 
the various miseries arising from vice and immo- 
rality would be unheard of. The world, in a de- 
gree, would be brought back to a Paradisaical state ; 



and, when the minds of men ceased to be agitated by 
bad dispositions, and their bodily strength to be under- 
mined by intemperance and excess on the one hand 
and by poverty and wretchedness on the other, it is 
natural to suppose, that their lives would be extended 
to a much longer period than they are at present. 

But some perhaps may ask, How can these things 
be ? To such a question the believer finds it not very 
difficult to give an answer. It was by an abundant effu- 
sion of the Holy Spirit, not by any natural inherent 
goodness of their own, that the primitive Christians 
were made to differ from others. It is by the agency 
of the same Spirit (I speak throughout of his ordi- 
nary operations), that every believer of the present 
day thankfully acknowledges, with Scripture and the 
Church, that a new heart is created within him. And 
it is by a yet more abundant effusion of the Holy 
Ghost both on Jews and Gentiles, as we are expressly 
taught in prophecy, that the great mass of mankind 
will truly and effectually be gathered into the fold of 
Christ in the days of the Millennium. There is no 
difficulty in conceiving, had it been agreeable to the 
purposes of the Most High so to have ordered mat- 
ters, that all men in the apostolic age might have been 
made like-minded with the primitive believers ; and 
that the Gospel might have been universally received, 
instead of being universally opposed. There is no dif- 
ficulty in conceiving, that the heart of a Nero or a 
Dioclesian might, ihrough the Spirit, have been as 
effectually turned to the knowledge and love of the 
truth, as the heart of a Peter or a Paul. Consequently, 
there is no difficulty in conceiving, that the Holy Spi- 
rit, who was pleased only to operate to a certain extent 
in the days of the Apostles, may hereafter operate so 
generally as to render nearly the whole of mankind 



similar, perhaps even superior, in holiness and genuine 
piety to the first Christians. All this, I repeat it, may 
easily be conceived ; for who shall presume to limit 
the extent of God's operations ? And, whether I be 
right or wrong in expecting a miraculous interference 
of the Divine Word, we are certainly led from prophe- 
cy to believe, that some such general diffusion of holi- 
ness will assuredly take place, and with it (what is in- 
deed its natural consequence) a general diffusion of 
happiness. 

This period, we are taught to expect, will be intro- 
duced by the most dreadful political convulsions that 
the world ever witnessed. Before " the greatness of 
the kingdom under the whole heaven," to adopt the 
language of Daniel, "shall be given to the people of 
the saints of the Most High," the tyranny of the two 
little horns must be broken, and the empire of the 
great Roman beast, in his last form and under his last 
head, must be dissolved. In the midst of the expir- 
ing struggles of God's enemies, the Jews must be res- 
tored and converted. And thus at length, when this 
tremendous tempest shall have exhausted itself, the 
glorious day of millennian happiness shall dawn upon 
a long benighted and distracted world. 

What part we may be destined to take in these aw- 
ful events, may well afford matter of anxious anticipa* 
tion to all of us, more especially when the present 
situation of Europe is considered with a reference to 
prophecy. That some prevailing maritime power of 
faithful worshippers will be chiefly instrumental in 
converting and restoring a part of the Jewish nation, 
seems to be declared in Scripture more than once with 
sufficient plainness : but I am persuaded that your 
Lordship will agree with me, that we may employ 
ourselves much more profitably in labouring to diffuse 



Vll 

the knowledge of the Gospel and to increase among 
us the number of the truly pious, than in speculating 
upon the probability or improbability of our being the 
maritime power in question. We live in times, which 
might produce seriousness even in the most unthink- 
ing ; and I am willing to hope, that there actually has 
been of late years a considerable increase of genuine 
religion among us. Our situation peculiarly fits us to 
be the ark, as it were, of God's Church. We must 
beware of making him our enemy, and then we need 
not fear what man can do unto us. But, however mat- 
ters may terminate, your Lordship will have the satis- 
faction of reflecting, that you have not been silent; 
that you have raised your voice, as a watchman of our 
Israel ; and that, in the solemnity of what you have 
conceived might be a last address, you have borne 
your testimony against any relapse into a superstition, 
from which our pious forefathers separated themselves, 
and which is destined to fall in the course of God's 
righteous judgments, ere the glorious kingdom of the 
mountain shall commence. 

X have the honour to be 

Your Lordship's most obliged 
and dutiful humble Servant, 

GEOflGE STANLEY FABEK. 
February 25, 1808, 



PREFACE. 



1 he plan, which I have pursued in the following work? 
is the same as that which I adopted in my Dissertation on 
the 1260 years. It was finished in the spring of the year 
1806 : and, instead of altering the text, such events as 
have since occurred, that appeared worthy of our obser- 
vation, I have animadverted upon in the notes. 

The longer I have considered the subject, the more I 
am confirmed in my former opinions. The passing train 
of events, the long period of time during which the abo- 
minations of Popery have been suffered to prevail from 
whatever precise era the appointed three times and a half 
ought to be computed, the very spirit of the age itfelf, all 
serve to shew, that we cannot be very far removed from 
what Daniel calls the time of the end. At least, whate- 
ver may be thought of the other particulars, this last, I 
mean the spirit of the age, seems to me sufficiently deci- 
sive. " When the Son of man cometh," said our Lord, 
" shall he find faith on the earth ?" The present age has 
been boastfully termed the age of reason : and, when we 
consider the sense in which it has been so termed, we 
can scarcely avoid esteeming the appellation synonymous 
with the age of unbelief. Individual unbelief indeed has 
existed in all ages of the church : but never was there an 
age, in which infidelity has been so widely and so syste- 
matically diffused ; never was there an age, to which the 
emphatic question of Christ so closely applied, as the 
present. Nor am I at all singular in my opinion. The 
question of our Lord, as it has been well observed by a 
late eminent divine, certainly " gives us reason to ex- 
pect, that, at the coming of the Son of man, faith shall 



scarcely be found on earth. It is obvious therefore to 
conclude, that, in proportion as the faith decays, the com- 
ing of Christ is drawing near. The scoffers of the last 
days may insolently demand of us, as it was foretold they 
should, where is the promise of his coming ? and object, 
that there is no sign of it, for that all things continue 
as they were. But this cannot now be said with truth. 
All things do not continue as they w^ere. There hath 
been a marvellous change of late in the affairs of this 
world and in the state of religion, with which all serious 
men are alarmed, justly apprehending that some still 
greater event is to follow. The signs of the times, to 
those who can read them, are many *." 

Some have supposed, that the 1260 years are already 
expired, and that their expiration took place about the 
commencement of the French revolution. As yet I have 
seen no sufficient reasons to induce me to assent to this 
opinion. According to the most natural interpretation of 
Dan. xii. 6, 7, the interpretation adopted by Mr. Mede 
and other eminent expositors, the interpretation which 
best harmonizes with parallel prophecies, the Jews will 
begin to be restored so soon as the three times and a half 
shall have expired. But the Jews have not begun to be 
restored. Therefore we scarcely seem warranted in sup- 
posing that the three times and a half have expired. How- 
ever this may be, I have little doubt that the wonderful 
shaking of nations during these last ^eighteen years is 
preparatory to the return and conversion of God's cho- 
sen people, and to the final overthrow of his congregated 
enemies. 

In citing the various prophecies which relate to these 
events, I have adhered to no one translation in particular, 
but have given that version of them, by whomsoever 
proposed, which appeared to me best to express their 
true meaning. Any material variation from the establish- 
ed translation is noticed and defended in the margin. 
On this account, as well as for another reason, I have 
found it expedient to cite the prophecies in question at 
full length. In our common version, one and the same 

* Jones's Works, Vol. vi. p. 358. 



XI 

connected prediction is frequently broken into apparently 
unconnected parts by the arbitrary division of chapters. 
Hence, the general design of the prophecy is greatly 
obscured; and by cursoiy readers, who pause at the 
termination of each chapter as if the subject were there 
completely finished, can scarcely be understood. In the 
following work, what I conceive to be parts of one pro- 
phecy are arranged accordingly ; and several chapters 
are frequently commented upon collectively, as jointly 
forming only one complete whole. The usual method of 
treating the subject by selecting detached texts, instead 
of considering the unbroken predictions of which these 
texts are mere parts, has always appeared to me extreme- 
ly defective. I have therefore departed from it, and think 
myself fully justified in doing so. 

At one period it was the humour of the day to spiri- 
tualize the prophecies, as it was called : that is to say, 
those prophecies, which in their plain and obvious accept 
tation relate to the restoration, the conversion, and the 
future glories, of the house of Israel, were referred to 
the original propagation and final universal extension o£ 
Christianity. , But, according to such a mode of exposi^ 
tion, there is scarcely any thing which the ancient pro-, 
phecies may not be made to declare. Its extreme licence 
affords a sufficient confutation of it. I entirely think with 
the late Bp. Horsley, that the plain literal meaning of the. 
prophecies which respect the future fortunes of the Jews 
ought to be strenuously maintained by all who study 
them. They are occasionally indeed written in the lan- 
guage of symbols ; and, when this is the case, they must 
no doubt be interpreted accordingly. But the literal 
application of them is not thereby affected. The political 
and spiritual revival of the house of Israel may be exhi- 
bited to us under the imagery of the birth of a child or of 
a resurrection from the dead. But, although the language 
in this particular be metaphorical, the proper house of 
Israel, not the Gentile Church of Christ, must be intend- 
ed, unless we wholly depart from the obvious sense of 
the prophecy. The literal mode of exposition recom- 
mended by Bp. Horsley, in opposition to the licence of 
spiritualizing, has been adopted by Mr. Bichcno, as well 



XII 

as by myself: and, though I cannot agree with him in 
all points (if I could, the present work had been super- 
fluous), I certainly think, that in his treatise on the resto- 
ration of the Jews he has thrown much light, perhaps 
more light than any of his predecessors, on the subject. 

In a work written on the plan of the present one, it was 
impossible to avoid a certain degree of repetition : but I 
could not give up the plan, because I am persuaded that 
it is best calculated to attain to the knowledge of the 
truth. In my preliminary general statement, I have de- 
tailed, in one unbroken narrative, what I conceive may be 
collected from prophecy relative to the great events which 
will take place after the expiration of the 1260 years. 
But this, unless supported by proofs, would be no better 
than a sort of theological romance. The proofs there- 
fore follow in their order. Each prediction is given at 
length, and each is separately considered. Now, since 
all these predictions relate to the same period, though 
there is a considerable degree of variety in them, there 
must likewise be much sameness ; and of this character 
of the predictions the several commentaries upon them 
must unavoidably partake. The subject however is of 
so much importance, that, by those who really wish to 
study it, I shall readily be excused for discussing it so 
largely. 



CONTENTS. 



A general statement of what may be collected from prophecy relative to 
the restoration of Israel and the overthrow of Antichrist. P. 1. 

PROPHECY I. 

The dispersion of the Israelites. ...their idolatry in their dispersion....their 
future restoration. Deut.iv. 27— 31. P. 50. 

PROPHECY II. 

The calamities at the siege of Jerusalem....the various circumstances attend- 
ing the dispersion of the Jews....their final conversion and restoration. 
Deut. xxviii. 15—66. xxix. 22—29. xxx. 1—10. P. 51. 

PROPHECY III. 

The millennian glory of Jerusalem....the rebuking of Antichrist. Isaiah ii. 
1—5. P. 59. 

PROPHECY IV. 

The judicial blindness of the Jews....their preservation from entire destruc- 
tion. Isaiah vi. 8—13. P. 60. 

PROPHECY V. 

The birth of Christ. ..his second advent....the blessings of his millennian king- 
dom. ...the restoration and conversion of Israel.. ..the exhaustion of the mys- 
tic Euphrates and Nile....the overthrow of the Antichristian sovereign of 
the mystic Babylon in the land of Palestine. Isaiah xi. xii. xiii. xiv. 1— 27". 
P. 68. 

PROPHECY VI. 

The dispersion of the Jews. ...the irruption of Antichrist at the time of their 
restoration....the character of some maritime nation destined to restore the 
converted Jews....the occupation of mount Zion by Antichrist.. ..his invasion 
of Egypt.... the state of Egypt at this period....the religious connection of 
Assyria, Israel, and Egypt. Isaiah xvii. xviii. xix. P. 86. 

PROPHECY VII. 

The dispersion of the Jews....their restoration from the west....the lamentation 
of Judah on account of the treachery of Antichrist....his restoration in the 
midst of great political troubles.. ..the overthrow of Antichrist.. ..the triumph 
of the restored Jews... .the certainty of their restoration and of the over- 
throw of Antichrist the exhaustion of the Euphrates, and the Nile. 

Isaiah xxiv. xxv. xxvi. xxvii. P. 115. 

PROPHECY VIII. 

The dispersion and subsequent restoration of the Jews...tho overthrow of the 
mystic Assyrian. Isaiah xxx. 17... .33. P. 128. 



XIV 

PROPHECY IX. 

The desolation of the mystic Edom....the miracles of Christ at his first and 
second advent....the restoration of the Jews. Isaiah xxxiv. xxxv. P. 131. 

PROPHECY X. 

The first advent... .the second advent.. ..the overthrow of Antichrist....the con- 
version and restoration of the spiritually blind Jews a denunciation 

against Babylon. Isaiah xlii. xliii. 1—21. P. 137. 

PROPHECY XF. 

1'he gathering- both of Jews and Gentiles into the millennian church.. ..the 
greatness of Israel....the fall of Antichrist. Isaiah xlix. 5—26. P. 143. 

PROPHECY XII. 

The joy and prosperity of the once desolate church of Judah at the time of 
the restoration....the vain gathering together of Antichrist. Isaiah liv. P. 147. 

PROPHECY XIII. 

The spiritual glory of the millennian church.... the continental restoration of 
the ten tribes. ...the maritime restoration of the converted of Judah. Isaiah 
lx. P. 150. 

PROPHECY XIV. 

The restoration and conversion of Judah. ...the triumph of Christ over the 
mystic Edom. Isaiah Ixii. lxiii. P. 153. 

PROPHECY XV. 

The call of the Jews. ...the mystic birth of the Jewish nation....a description of 
the Antichristian confederacy....its overthrow. ...the scattering of such as 
escape... .the restoration of the converted ten tribes. ...the glories of the mil- 
lennium. Isaiah lxvi. 5 — 24. P. 163. 

PROPHECY XVI. 

The captivity, restoration, conversion, and union, of Israel and Judah.. .the 
invasion of Palestine from the north bv Antichrist... .his destruction. Jer. 
iii. 1—18. iv. 5—29. i. 13—15. vi. 1, 22, 23. x. 22—25. xii. 10—17. P. 170. 

PROPHECY XVII. 

The idolatry of the Israelites in the land of their dispersion....their restoration 
by sea and by land.. ..the punishment of Judah... .the general conversion of 
the Gentiles. Jer. xvi. 13—21. P. 180. 

PROPHECY XVIII. 

A denunciation against those who have tyrannized over Israel.. ..the restora- 
tion and conversion both of Israel and Judah. Jer. xxiii. 1—8. P. 182. 

PROPHECY XIX. 

The general restoration of Israel....the restoration of Judah in a time of great 
trouble.. ..the overthrow of Antichrist.. ..the certainty of the restoration of 
Israel, and his happy state subsequent to it. Jer. xxx. xxxi. P. 185. 

PROPHECY XX. 

The desolation of the mystic Edom. Lamen. iv. 21, 22. P. 193. 

PROPHECY XXI. 
T 
he restoration and conversion of the Jews. Ezek. xi. 13—21. P. 193. 

PROPHECY XXII. 
The restoration and conversion of Judah and Israel.. ..the conversion of the 
Gentiles.. .Jerusalem the head of all churches, though not by the Mosaical 
'covenant. Ezek. xvi. 46—63. P. 195. 



PROPHECY XXIII. 

The restoration of Israel....the long sufferings of the Jews in Uie course of 
their return. Ezek. xx. 33—44. P. 196. 

PROPHECY XXIV. 

The overthrow of the mystic Tyre and her princ<? preparatory to the com- 
plete restoration and prosperity of Israel. Ezek. xxvi. 7—21. xxvii. xxviii. 
P. 200. 

PROPHECY XXV. 

The dispersion of Israel through the tyranny of their shepherds. ...God will 
require his people at their hands. ...the restoration of Judah partly in a con- 
verted and partly in an unconverted state....the opposition of the unconvert- 
ed to the converted, a proof that the unconverted will be restored by An- 
tichrist... .downfal of the mystic Edom....the political revival, restoration, 
and final union of Israel and Judah. ...the overthrow of Gog and Magog 
at the end of the Millennium. Ezek. xxxiv. xxxv. xxxvi. 1 — 32. xxxvii. 
xxxviii. xxxix. P. 221. 

PROPHECY XXVI. 

Descriptive character of the powers that will compose the Antichristian con- 
federacy....the progress of Antichrist to Palestine....his overthrow there.... 
the restoration of Judah during a time of great trouble at the close of the 
1260 vears. Dan, ii. 40—45, 34, 35. vii. 7—27. Rev, xiii. xvii. Dan. xi 
36—45. xii. Rev. xvi. 12—21. xviii. P. 258. 

PROPHECY XXVII. 

The restoration of Israel.. ..their instrumentality in converting the Gentiles.... 
the state of the Jews in the days of their dispersion. Hosea i. .2 — 11 ii 21 
—23. iii. P. 277. 

PROPHECY XXVIII. 

The captivity of Judah and Israel.. ..the application of some of their members 
to the mystic Assyrian to effect their restoration. ...their distress. ...their 
final political revival. Hosea v. 8 — 15. vi. P. 281. 

PROPHECY XXIX. 

The successive restoration of Judah and Israel. Hosea xi. 8 — 12. P. 287. 

PROPHECY XXX. 

The restoration and conversion of Israel....his rejection of Antichrist. Hosea 
xiv. P. 289. 

PROPHECY XXXI. 

Irruption of Antichrist into Palestine.. ..his destruction there. ...general effusion 
of the Holy Spirit....a description of the overthrow of the confederated 
nations at the period of the restoration of Judah. Joel i. 1—14 ii iii 
P. 292. 

PROPHECY XXXII. 

The dispersion of the Jews, and the occupation of their country by foreign 
invaders. ...their restoration and triumph over the mystic Edom. Amos viii 
11,12. ix. 4— 15. P. 311. 

PROPHECY XXXIIT. 
The certainty of the restoration of Judah and Israel. Micah ii. 12, 13. P. 314. 

PROPHECY XXXIV. 
The glories of the millennian church.. ..the mystic birth of the Jewish nation.... 
the overthrow of the Antichristian confederacy partly by the instrument*- 



lity of the Jews....the advent of Christ....he protects the now converted 
Jews, and destroys the mystic Assyrian....the instrumentality of the Jews 
in the conversion of the Gentiles. Micali iv. v. P. 315. 

PROPHECY XXXV. 
Lamentation of the dispersed church of lsrael....a promise of her restoration 
and the overthrow of Antichrist. Micah vii. P. 323. 

PROPHECY XXXVI. 
The dispersion of the Jews....the sacking- of Jerusalem by the Romans. ...the 
call of the converted Jews... .their triumphant settlement in their own land 
....the destruction of the mystic Nineveh... .the prevalence of pure religion..-, 
the instrumentality of some great maritime nation in restoring the Jews. 
Zeph. i. 2—18. ii. hi. P. 327. 

PROPHECY XXXVII. 
The various dispersions of Israel by four kingdoms of the Gentiles ....the final 
restoration and prosperitv of the Jews....the miraculous overthrow of Anti- 
christ Zechi. 12— 21. P. 344. 

PROPHECY XXXVIII. 
The general restoration of the Jews, and the conversion of the Gentiles. 
Zech. viii. 2...23. P. 349. 

PROPHECY XXXIX. 

The instrumentality of Judah in the overthrow of Antichrist....the restoration 
of Joseph....his office of converting the Gentiies....the fate of Egypt and 
Assyria. Zech. x. 3— 12. P. 352. 

PROPHECY XL. 

The miraculous overthrow of the Antichristian confederacy....the conversion 
of certain Jews in Jerusalem....the preservation and conversion of the third 
part of the Antichristian confederacy ....the previous sacking of Jerusalem 
by Antichrist....the manifestation of Messiah to destroy Antichrist....the 
extermination of false religion....the destruction of Antichrist....the preva- 
lence of true religion. ...the nature of the plague with which the faction of 
Antichrist will be afflicted....the part which Judah will act....the final con- 
version and prosperity of Judah. Zech. xii. xiii. xiv. P. 355. 

PROPHECY XLI. 

The restoration of the Jews at "the close of the times of the Gentiles. Luke 
xxi. 20—24. P. 369. 

PROPHECY XLII. 

The restoring of the kingdom to Israel. Acts i. 6. P. 373. 

PROPHECY XLIII. 
The present rejection and final conversion of the Jews, when the fulness of 
the Gentiles shall have come. Rom. xi. 1—33. P. 374. 

PROPHECY XL1V. 
The visible manifestation of Christ to confound Antichrist. Rev. i. 7. P. 379. 
Conclusion. P. 380. 



A GENERAL AND CONNECTED 



VIEW, &c. 



A general Statement of what may be collected from Prophecy- 
relative to the restoration of Israel and the overthrow of Anti- 
christ. 

1 HE restoration of Israel and the overthrow of Anti- 
christ are so closely connected together, that it will be 
found impossible to treat of the one without likewise 
treating of the other. In a former work * I have briefly 
considered them both : but, the object of that work being 
an examination of the prophecies which relate to the 
whole period of the 1260 days, it was necessary to dis- 
cuss what is only the catastrophe of the great drama with 
a proportionable brevity. Yet even that part of the sub- 
ject appeared to be of so much importance, as justly to 
merit a distinct and more ample consideration. Hitherto 
I have confined myself almost entirely to the prophecies 
of Daniel and St. John : now I purpose to take a wider 
range, and to collect into one point of view the various 
scattered predictions, which foretell that the whole house 
of Israel shall assuredly be restored, and that the power 
of Antichrist shall at the same period be broken for ever. 
But first, that the subject may be rendered more clear 
and less intricate, I shall give a general statement of what 
may be gathered from them relative to those two great 
events f. 

* A Dissertation on the prophecies that relate to the great period of '1260 years. 

f I think it superfluous to croud my margin with references, as all the 
prophecies, upon which this general statement is founded, will be given at 
large and commented upon hereafter. 
1 



The era of the restoration of Judah seems to be very 
definitely marked by Daniel. He teaches us, that at the 
close of the three times and a half ox the 1260 days, God 
will cease to scatter his holy people, or (as Mr. Wintle 
renders the passage) will accomplish the scatterings of. 
his holy people ; in other words, that he will begin to 
bring them back into their own land *. And, in order 
(as it were) that we may not possibly misunderstand him, 

* " Until how long" shall be the end of these wonders ? — It shall be until 
a time, times, and a half; and, when he shall have finished to scatter the 
power of the holy people, all these wonders shall be finished." (Dan. xii. 6, 
7.) Since then all the wo?iders contained within the period of the three times and 
a half are finished when the scattering of the holy people is finished, the most 
natural meaning" of the passage seems to be, that the period of their scattering 
will come to a close, and consequently they themselves will begin to be restored, 
when the three times and a half shall have expired. But they have not yet 
begun to cease to be a scattered people ; therefore the period of their scatter- 
ing has not come to a close : and, since this period expires when the period of 
three times and a half which coiitains the wonders expires, we can scarcely 
avoid inferring-, that we cannot as yet have arrived at the termination of the 
three times and a half. In short, as it appears to me, the only certain badge of 
this termination is the commencement of the restoration of Judah. But see the 
matter fully discussed in my Dissert, on the 1260 years, Chap. in. and in 
my reply to Mr. Bicheno. 

Some, I believe, have. imagined, that the holy people, whose scattering" is to 
be finished at the end of the 1260 years, are not the Jews, but those pious wit- 
nesses who are appointed to prophesy in sackcloth during" that period. 
The whole context however of the prediction shews this opinion to be erro- 
neous. The revealing angel introduces it by informing Daniel, that he will 
make him understand what shall befall his people in the latter days, or (as the 
original expression ought rather in that passage to be translated) during the 
succession of days. (Dan. x. 14.) Such being the case, since the prophecy 
reaches to the very time of the end, and to the overthrow of Antichrist, we must 
necessarily suppose, that it will conclude with foretelling the restoration of 
the Jews ; otherwise the most remarkable event in the history of Daniel's 
people would be omitted. Indeed the very expression to scatter shews, that 
they alone can be intended ; for in none of the predictions relative to the ty- 
ranny of Popery are the witnesses ever said to be scattered, nor in fact were they 
ever scattered in any such remarkable manner as the Jews. 

I am no way singular in drawing the preceding conclusion from this pro- 
phecy of Daniel. 

" The Jews," says Mr. Mede, " shall be carried captive over all nations, and 
Jerusalem trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfill- 
ed : that is, until the monarchies of the Gentiles should be finished. For 
these times of the Gentiles are that last period of the fourth kingdom prophe- 
sied of, a time, times, and half a time : at the end whereof the angel swears 
unto Daniel (Chap. xii. 7.), that God should accomplish to scatter the power of 
the holy people. This is that fulness of the Gentiles, which being come, St. 
Paul tells us, the Deliverer shall come out of Zion, and all Israel shall be saved. 
Rom. xi. 26. (Treatise on Daniel's Weeks. Works B. in. p. 709). I make 
no question but these times of the Gentiles, with which the Jews 9 tribulation 
shall end, are either the times of the four monarchies in general (that is, the 
times of that prophesied dominion of the Gentiles), or, (which is all one in 



.,:"'•' 



he further informs us, that this shall come to pass at the 
same time that an expedition into Palestine is undertaken 
by Antichrist, who is there destined to perish ; and that 
this expedition shall take place at a period denominated 
the time of the end, which, as may be easily collected from 
other parts of the book of Daniel, denotes the period of IS 
years which commences at the expiration of the 1260 years, 
and extends to the beginning of the Millennium* . Thus 
are we in a manner doubly informed, that the Jews will 
begin to be restored, when the 1260 years shall have 
drawn to their close. 

As for the order and manner of the conversion of Israel, 
his general restoration, and the final expedition and over- 
throw of the Antichristian faction, we have reason to be- 
lieve, so far as can be collected from prophecy, that they 
will be as follows. 

Either before or about the expiration of the 1260 years, 
the eyes of one great division of the scattered Jews will be 
opened ; and they will joyfully embrace the faith of that 
Redeemer, whom they have so long rejected and despised. 
In effecting first their conversion (possibly before the 
end of the 1260 years), and afterwards their restoration! 
(certainly when the 1260 years shall have fully expired), 
some mighty maritime nation of faithful xvorshippers will 
be principally instrumental. To this great division of 
Judah, destined to be brought to the knowledge of the 

event) those last times of the fourth kingdom of a time, times, and half a 
time." Works B. iv. epist. 12. p. 753. See also epist. 8. p. 744. 

" Mr. Lowth," says Mr. Wintle, " has recounted a number of passages in 
the prophets, which indicate the restoration of the Jews in the latter days, or 
when the fourth monarchy shall expire. — At this decisive period, or after the 
1260 years of the reign of Antichrist (Popery) and the addition of another 
short term for the restoration of the Jews, will be the end of these wonders or 
marvellous things inquired after in the last verse." (Wintle on Dan. xii. 7.) 
" Though the reign of Antichrist seems here fixed for 1290 years, which is a 
term of 30 yeai^s more than was mentioned at Ver. 7, this excess in the opi- 
nion of some is the time allotted for the collecting of the Jexvs from their 
captivity among all nations, or the several countries of their dispersion ; and 
at the close of Ver 7 there does seem to be a further period alluded to for 
this purpose, after the time, times, and a half, or the 1260 years.'* Wintle on 
Dan. xii. 11. 

* See my Dissert, onthe 1260 vears, Chap. in. 

t Dan. xii. 1, 6, 7. relates to the restoration, not the conversions of yudah. 
The former commences at the close of the 1260 years. 



4 

truth while yet in the land of their dispersion, the mari- 
time worshippers will be sent, the appointed messengers 
of God, in swiftly- sailing vessels : and, reverently obe- 
dient to the divine command, they will bear them safely 
in a mighty fleet, as a present to the Lord of hosts, to the 
place of his holy name, even mount Zion. The Jews 
therefore, who are thus converted and brought back by 
sea, must clearly be such Jews, as shall be scattered either 
through the dominions and colonies of the maritime pow- 
er, or through those of other smaller maritime nations in 
alliance with and professing the same faith as the great 
naval poxver itself. 

At the period when these matters are transacting, the 
Ottoman empire will have been overthrown, and the great 
confederacy of Antichrist will have been completed. It 
will consist of the Roman beast under his last or Carlo - 
vingian head, the false prophet or the ecclesiastical power 
of the Papacy, and the subordinate vassal kings of the 
Latin empire. To these Daniel adds a state, which he 
describes under the character of a king that magnified 
himself above every God, and which from the account of 
its actions is plainly the grand contriver and director of 
the whole confederacy*. Hence we are naturally led to 
conclude, that this state will at that period be identified 
with the last head of the beast]'. The state in question 
I have elsewhere shewn to be Antichristian France : and 
recent events have but too amply confirmed the conjec- 
ture, that its chief would sooner or later acquire the em- 
pire of Charlemagne J. As yet indeed he has not assumed 
the title of Emperor of the Romans ; but he has become 
virtually and effectively the Emperor of the West, the 
lord of the destinies of France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. 
With our own eyes we may now behold the rapid forma- 

* Having" thus specified the members of which the Antichristian confederacy 
is composed, I shall refrain hereafter, in order to avoid needless repetition, 
from particularizing- them. Whenever therefore I speak of the Antichristian 
confederacy, or the Antichristian faction, the reader is desired to understand 
me as speaking conjointly of all these different members. 

\ See my Dissert, on the 1260 years. Vol. n. p. 359—365. (2d. Edit. p. 400 

r. — 408.) 

* See my Dissert, on the 1260 years, Vol. i. p. 317—351. (2d. Edit. p. 346— 
383 ) 



tion olthat conspiracy of federal kings, of which he openly 
avows himself the head; and which, after the effusion of 
the sixth vial and the overthrow of the Ottoman empire*, 
will begin to be gathered together by secret diabolical 
agency to their destruction at Megiddo. We need only 
look to what is passing on the great stage of the Latin 
empire ; and we shall require no comment on the pre- 
dicted confederacy of the beast under his last head, the 
false prophet, and the kings of the Roman earth. St. John 
teaches us to expect such a confederacy after the sound- 
ing of the third woe -trumpet, after the horrors of the sym- 
bolical harvest, while the blazing sun of military despo- 
tism is scorching with an intolerable heat the degraded 
Latin empire, in the last days of blasphemous infidelity ; 
and Ave now see the commencement of its formation. 

While the faithful maritime power is engaged in con- 
verting one great division of the Jews, with a view per- 
haps j- to their ultimate restoration ; the Antichristian 
confederacy will take under its protection another great 
division of the Jews, and will prepare to direct its arms 
against Palestine, in order to restore them in an uncon- 
verted state (and that for mere political purposes) to the 
country of their forefathers. Daniel has given us a won- 
derfully minute account of the progress of this Antichris- 
tian confederacy to Palestine ; which, as might naturally 
be expected from the circumstance of the maritime pow- 
er commanding at sea, is plainly by land. Antichrist, in 
his attempt to invade the holy land from his empire in the 
West, must necessarily pass through Turkey. In whose 
hands Greece and Asia Minor will then be, no one can 

* That the exhaustion of the waters of the Euphrates means the subversion of 
the Ottoman empire, is sufficiently manifest from the analogy of the apocalyp- 
tic language. If the issuing forth of the four angels from the Euphrates with an 
innumerable body of cavalry, under the sixth trumpet, denote, as it plainly docs, 
the rise of the Turkish monarchy ,• then, unless we suppose St. John to he 
utterly inconsistent with himself, the exhaustion of that same Euphrates must 
denote its subversion. But see my Dissert, on the 1260 years, Vol. it. p. 344 
et infra. (2d. edit. p. 381.) 

•j" It is possible, that the maritime power may at first attempt to convert 
the yews without any specific design of restoring them. Its restoration of 
them may be undertaken in consequence of Antichrist'' s project of restoring 
the unconverted Jews. But respecting such points as these we can at present. 
merely conjecture. 



at present with certainty determine : but this we know, 
that the Ottoman empire itself will have been previously 
overthrown at the beginning of the effusion of the sixth 
vial. In this attempt, Antichrist will meet with some 
opposition from a king of the south, and with a most de- 
termined and formidable resistance from a king of the 
north, who will come against him like a whirlwind with 
chariots and horsemen and many ships ; with the last, 
most probably to prevent his crossing into Asia. Yet, 
in spite of all their attempts, he shall enter into the coun- 
tries, overflowing them like a resistless torrent ; and, the 
prophet specially adds, shall pass over ; meaning, perhaps, 
over the streights which divide Asia from Europe, and 
which the northern potentate shall vainly attempt to 
block up with his ships. This great northern power I 
have already conjectured to be Russia* : and, the more I 
have since thought upon the subject, the more I am in- 
clined to adhere to my first opinion. What state is meant 
by the king of the south, we have not as yet, I think, 
sufficient grounds to determine. 

Antichrist, having now passed over the streights, rapid- 
ly advances into the glorious land or Palestine, overthrow- 
ing and pillaging many countries by the way. Such then 
being his route, he must necessarily enter into the holy 
land from the north : accordingly this dreadful invasion is 
more than once described as proceeding from the north. 
Like a vast flight of locusts, his armies cover the face of 
the whole country, devouring and wasting, with their 
accustomed rapacity, all the productions of nature. 

Unsated by victory, he still meditates new conquests. 
After placing his allies, the unconverted Jews, in Jerusa- 
lem and its vicinity, he now directs his steps towards 
Egypt. Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the chil- 
dren of Amnion however, escape out of his hand. For 
this they have to thank, not his moderation and clemen- 
cy, but merely their local situation. A map will best 
explain the reason of their security. The districts, which 
those nations formerly occupied, lie so far to the east, as 

* See my Dissert, on the 1260 years. Vol. 1. p. 356. (2d. Edit. p. 400.) 



to be entirely out of the way of any army which is pas- 
sing from Judea into Egypt. But over other countries, 
more closely adjoining to Egypt, he will stretch forth 
his hand : and, while Egypt is unable to escape his ma- 
rauding rapacity, those, whom Daniel calls the Lubim 
and the Cushim, shall be compelled to attend his steps, 
and probably either augment his armies * or perform the 
most menial offices in his camp. 

In the midst of his African conquests, he is troubled 
by tidings out of the east and out of the north. What 
these tidings are, Daniel does not positively determine : 
but the subsequent context shews, that they must relate to 
the approach of some new enemies, and to some disagree- 
able intelligence respecting Jerusalem. From these data, 
and by the assistance of other parallel prophecies, we may 
form no improbable conjecture at least respecting those 
tidings out of the east and out of the north, which are 
described as so grievously troubling Antichrist. We left 
the great maritime power, preparing to bring by sea its 
allies, the converted Jews, as a present to the Lord of 
hosts, to mount Zion. Now, in whatever part of the 
world this power may be situated, whether far beyond 
the eastern or the western Cushean streams, it is plain 
that its navy can only approach Palestine by th^way-of 
the Mediterranean sea. Such then will indisputably be 
its course. The maritime expedition at length reaches 
Palestine : but the converted Jews, and their naval protec- 
tors, find themselves opposed by the unconverted Jews, 
and the troops which Antichrist had left behind him to 
garrison Jerusalem and other strong-holds. Apparently 
after no trifling bloodshed, and (if I judge rightly from 
some prophecies) when the converted Jews had suffered 
very considerably, the eyes of their unconverted brethren 
will unexpectedly be opened ; they will look upon him 
whom they had pierced ; and, throwing off the base yoke 
of Antichrist, they will cordially join such of their nation 
as had embraced Christianity, and had allied themselves 

* We have already beheld the tyrant take into his pay, as body guards, 
those foreign mercenaries, the Mamalucs. 



to the faithful maritime power. At the period when 
these events happen, and that they will happen is reveal- 
ed with sufficient clearness, we may suppose Antichrist 
to be in Egypt and Libya : for to what other time, in 
the course of his whole progress, can we with equal pro- 
priety ascribe them? Thus situated, he would plainly 
receive the intelligence from the north and from the east. 
From the north and the north-east he would learn, by 
means of some light vessels, first that the navy of the 
maritime power was approaching, and afterwards that it 
had safely reached the coast of Palestine : from the east 
he would learn, by means of his own fugitive troops 
which had been stationed in Judea, that the 'maritime 
power had completely succeeded in its first attempt, that 
it had brought back a large body of converted Jews, and 
that those who had been restored by Antichrist in an 
unconverted state had suddenly embraced the faith of 
protestant Christianity, and had revolted from him to their 
already believing brethren *. Unless we admit, that 
either this, or something like it, will be the case ; we 
shall find it no easy matter to account for the fury with 
which Antichrist is represented, as returning into Judea 
which he had already subdued, and as besieging Jerusa- 
lem which he had already given to his allies the uncon- 
verted Jews. For, that certain unbelieving Jews will be 
converted in Jerusalem, is plainly asserted by Zechariah : 
and, that the city will afterwards be besieged and taken, 
is asserted both by Zechariah and Daniel. But all those 
Jexvs, who are restored by the maritime power, will return 
in a converted state ; as is manifest from the language 
used by Isaiah and Zephaniah. By whom then can the 
unconverted Jews have been restored, except by Anti- 
christ, who will make himself master of the whole land 
of Palestine ? And why should he afterwards besiege 
them in Jerusalem, except on account of their conver- 
sion mentioned by Zechariah, and their revolt from his 
cause ? For, if they had not revolted from him after 

* A map will explain, how to any person in Egypt news from Palestine 
must come from the north and the east. 



their conversion, no reason can be assigned why he 
should so bitterly attack them. 

Troubled with such unpleasant tidings from the east 
and from the north, Antichrist hastily quits Egypt and 
Libya, and retraces his steps to Judea. Going forth in 
the height of his fury, he threatens to destroy alfsuch as 
should oppose him : and, calling in the aid of Popish 
bigotry, he sanctifies his expedition by representing it as a 
holy crusade against heretics ; and, with banners blessed 
by the false prophet who (as we have reason to believe 
from the Apocalypse *) will be his attendant f, he de- 
votes many to utter extermination under the blasphe- 
mous pretext of religion. His wonted success at first 
attends him. He besieges Jerusalem now occupied by 
his enemies, and takes it. Here he exercises his usual 
barbarity ; a barbarity, increased ten-fold by the defection 
of his late allies. The houses are rifled, and the women 
are ravished, by his licentious soldiery. Half of the in- 
habitants are made captive.: but the other half are per- 
mitted still to remain in the city, under the control 
most probably of a strong garrison. Thus does he plant 
the curtains of his tents between the seas in the glorious 
holy mountain : and thus is Jerusalem, now for the last 
time, trodden down of the Gentiles. 

During these disasters, the troops of the maritime 
power appear to have retreated towards the sea- shore, in 
order that they may be able to regain their ships, if all 
further resistance should prove fruitless. Here they 
would doubtless be joined by the great body of their 
allies, the first converted Jezvs, and by such of those that 
were afterwards converted, as were able to effect their 
escape from the rage of Antichrist, To this devoted 
host the tyrant now directs his attention. Anticipating 
an easy victory over his last enemies, either by suddenly 
cutting them off from their ships, or by compelling them 
to re-embark, and with £roud exultation looking forward 

* See Rev. xix. 19, 20. 

f Mr. Whitaker conjectures, that the seat of the Papacy will be finally re- 
moved to Jerusalem. (Comment, on Rev. p. 443.) 1 think his conjecture by 
no means improbable. The remarkable passage, contained in Rev. xix. 19, 
20, seems at least to favour the belief, that the power of the Papacy, no less 
than that of Antichrist , will be broken in Palestine. 
Q 



10 

to the uncontrolled empire of the civilized world, he 
leaves Jerusalem, and advances with his whole army to 
Megiddo. Between this town and the sea w r e may sup- 
pose the troops of the maritime power and the Jews to 
have taken their position, hopeless probably of victory 
from their vast disparity in numbers to the huge hosts of 
their enemy. But the battle is not always to the strong, 
nor the race to the swift. At this anxious moment, the 
glory of the Lord is suddenly manifested in the midst of 
Jerusalem, and Jehovah himself becometh a wall of fire 
around her. The Almighty Word of God goeth forth, 
like a man of war, in the greatness of his strength ; and 
all his saints, the innumerable armies of heaven, are with 
him. His awful commission is from the Most High. 
For, after the manifestation of the glory, the Lord of 
hosts sendeth him unto the nations that have spoiled his 
ancient people ; that he may shake his hand over them, 
that they may become a spoil unto those whom they had 
made their servants, that they may know that the lord of 
hosts hath sent him, that they may learn that he who 
toucheth Judah toucheth the apple of his e) T e. The tre- 
mendous vision halts for a moment on the mount of Olives ; 
which, like Sinai of old, acknowledges a present God, and 
with a mighty earthquake cleaves asunder in the midst. It 
then advances to the valley of Megiddo, and hovers over 
the heads of the palsied troops of Antichrist. The jiivine 
Word displays himself to the assembled nations. The 
faithful look up with awful wonder, knowing that their 
redemption draweth nigh. Every eye seeth him ; and 
they also, his kindred after the flesh, which pierced him, 
now behold him in his glory. He cometh with clouds : 
and all kindreds of the Latin earth wail because of him. 
He descendeth in his wrath : he treadeth the wine -press 
in the fiiry of his indignation : his garments are sprinkled 
with the blood of his enemies. 

It appears, from comparing various prophecies toge- 
ther, that the overthrow of the Antichristian confederacy 
will be effected partly by supernatural and partly by 
natural agency. Christ will indeed tread the wine-press 
alone, for to his sole might will the victory be owing : yet 
will he likewise use the instrumentality of others. While he 



11 

miraculously smites his enemies with a dreadful plague, 
so that their flesh shall consume away while they stand 
upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in 
their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their 
mouth ; he will send likewise among them a great tumult 
from the Lord, so that they shall lay hold every one on 
the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against 
the hand of his neighbour. Judah also, summoned to the 
dreadful task of vengeance by his God, shall take an ac- 
tive part in the destruction of his enemies : for, in that 
day, the Lord will make the governors of Judah like a 
hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in 
a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, 
on the right hand and on the left. Thus will Antichrist 
come to his end, and none shall help him : thus will the 
beast now under his last head be taken, and with him the 
false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with 
which he deceived them that had received the mark of 
the beast and them that worshipped his image. These 
both will be cast alive into a lake of fire burning with 
brimstone : and the remnant will be slain with the sword 
of that Almighty Conqueror who sitteth upon the white 
horse, the sword that proceedeth out of his mouth ; and 
all the fowls will be filled with their flesh. 

There has been so long a suspension of the visible in- 
terpositions of Providence, a suspension nevertheless 
expressly foretold by Isaiah #, that we are apt in the pre- 
sent day to feel a sort of hesitation in admitting that they 
will ever be renewed. The Jews perpetually required a 
sign of the Lord, at the period of \\\s first advent : zve, on 
the contrary, can scarcely bring ourselves to interpret 
literally even the most express predictions, relative to his 
miraculous and personal manifestation at the period of 
his second advent f. Few have felt the influence of this 
prejudice more than myself: and nothing but a laborious 
comparison of prophecy with prophecy has enabled me 
to subdue it. Yet, while I now fully assent to Mr. 
Mede's opinion, that there will be some such pre U 

* See Bp. Horsley's Letter on Isaiah xviii. P. 96. 

f " The time for the restoration of the Jevjs" says Bp. Hor^W, "is no 
erwise defined than as the season of our Lord's secoml advent." (Letter on 



12 

tural manifestation, I cannot think that he assigns to it its 
proper place in the succession of events. He supposes,, 
that it will be the cause of the conversion of the Jews : 
whereas, according as matters appear to me, they will be 

Isaiah xviii. p. 16. See also p. 14.) His Lordship might have added, with 
Mr. Mede, on the authority of Dan. xii. 6, 7, that the time of their restora- 
tion is likewise defined to be the season at the expiration of the 1260 years. 

As 1 shall have frequent occasion, in the course of the present work, to 
mention the second advent of Christ, it may not be amiss briefly to state what 
1 understand by it. 

The second advent of Christ is commonly spoken of, from the pulpit and in 
ordinary conversation, as the time when our Lord will come to judge both the 
quick and the dead, and to assign to all their everlasting portion either of happi- 
ness or misery. This notion of it is not perfectly correct. The second ad- 
vent includes indeed the final destination of the whole race of mankind ; but 
it includes likewise much more, commencing long before that time which we 
are wont familiarly to call the day of judgment. In fact, the great day of judg- 
ment synchronizes with the whole period of the second advent, comprehending 
at once the final destination of mankind and many other antecedent particulars . 
It is necessary to form a clear idea of this point ; otherwise, when it is said 
that the Jews will be restored at the era of the second advent, the reader 
might be in danger of imagining that they would not be restored till that era 
■which is familiarly called the day of judgment, that is to say, the final consum- 
mation of all things : whereas, after their restoration and conversion, they 
are to flourish in their own land during the space of at least 1000 years. 

Mr. Mede has treated this subject so well, that I cannot do better thatt 
avail myself of his remarks. 

" When Daniel's times are done, the Son of man comes in the clouds of 
heaven, to receive the empire of all the kingdoms of the world. Dan. vii. 14. 
" When St. Luke's times of the Gentiles are finished, then shall be signs in 
the sun and moon ; the Son of man comes also in the clouds of heaven, the 
redemption of Israel and the kingdom of God are at hand. Luke xxi. 27, 
28,31. 

" The first coming of Christ was to be while the fourth kingdom was yet in 
being ; the second, when it should end." Works, B. iv. Epist. 8. p. 744, 745. 
" The times of the Gentiles are that last period of the fourth kingdom pro- 
phesied of, a time times and half a time ,- at the end whereof the angel 
swears unto Daniel (Chap. xii. 7.) that God should accomplish to scatter the 
power of the holy people. This is that fulness of the Gentiles, which being 
come, St. Paul tells us, The deliverer shall come out of Zion, and all Israel 
shall be saved." Works, B. in. Treatise on Daniel's Weeks, p. 709. 

" The mother text of Scripture, whence the Church of the yews grounded 
the name and expectation of the great day of judgment, with the circumstances 
thereto belonging, and whereunto almost all the descriptions and expressions 
thereof in the New Testament have reference, is that vision in the seventh of 
Daniel of a session of judgment when the fourth beast came to be destroyed : 
where this great Assises is represented after the manner of the great Syne- 
drion or consistory of Israel ; wherein the pater judicii had his assessores, sit- 
ting- upon seats placed semi-circle wise before him from his right hand to his 
left. I beheld (saith Daniel Chap. vii. 9.) till the thrones or seats were pitched 
down (namely for the senators to sit upon, not thrown down, as we of late have 
it), and the Ancient of days (pater consistorii) did sit. And I beheld, till the judg- 
ment was set (that is, the whole Sanhedrim,) and the books were opened. 

" Here we see both the form of judgment delineated, and the name of 
judgment expressed ; which is afterwards yet twice more repeated s first, 
in the amplification of the tyranny of the wicked horn (Ver. 21, 22.), which (is 



M 

previously converted ; and Christ ^vill be revealed, not to 
turn them to the faith, but to execute judgment upon his 
enemies. " I incline to think," says he, " that they shall 
be called by vision and voice from heaven, as St. Paul 
was ; and that that place of Zechariah They shall see him 
whom they have pierced, and that of Matthew Ye shall 

said) continued till the Ancient of days came, and Judgment was given to the 
saints of the most High, i. e. potestas judicandi ipsis facta ,- and the third time 
in the angel's interpretation ( Ver. 26.). But the Judgment shall sit, and they 
shall take away his dominion to consume and destroy it to the end. Where, ob- 
serve also, that cases of dominion, of blasphemy, and apostacy, and the like, 
belonged to the jurisdiction of the great Sanhedrim. 

" From this description it came, that the Jews gave it the name of the day 
of judgment and the day of the great judgment ; whence, in the epistle of St. 
Jude (Ver. 6.), it is called the judgment of the great day. 

" From the same description they learned, that the destruction then to be 
should be by fire, because it is said (Ver. 9.) His throne was a fiery flame, 
and his wheels burning fire ; and (Ver. 11.) The beast was slain, and his body 
destroyed and given to the burning flame. 

" From the same fountain are derived those expressions in the Gospel, 
where this day is intimated or described ; The Son of man shall come in the 
clouds of heaven ,- The Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his 
holy angels: forasmuch as it said here, Thousand thousands viinistered unto 
him; and that Daniel saw One like the Son of man coming with the clouds 
of heaven, and he came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near him. 

" Hence St. Paul learned, that the saints should judge the world, because it 
is said that many thrones were set, and (Ver, 22.) by way of exposition, that 
judgment was given to the saints of the Most High. 

" Hence the same apostle learned to confute the false fear of the Thessa- 
lonians, that the day of Christ's second coining was then at hand : because that 
day could not be till the man of sin were first come, and should have reigned 
his time appointed : forasmuch as Daniel had foretold it should be so, and 
that his destruction should be at the Son of man's appearing in the clouds ; 
whose appearing therefore was not to be till then. This is evrMpxveici, rr,r, 
Troc^ao-tctt; etvla in St. Paul : whom the Lord (saith he) shall destroy at the 
imfixveiu of his coming. Daniel's wicked horn is St. Paul's man of sin, as the 
Church from her infancy interpreted it. 

" But to go on : while this judgment sits, and when it had destroyed the 
fourth beast, the Son of man which comes in the clouds receives dominion, 
and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve 
and obey him (Ver. 14.) ; which kingdom is thrice explained afterwards to be 
the kingdom of the saints of the Most High, Ver. 18, 22, 27. 

"These grounds being laid, I argue as followeth : 

" The kingdom of the Son of man and of the saints of the Most High in 
Daniel begins when the great judgment sits. 

" The kingdom in the Apocalypse, wherein the saints reign with Christ a 
thousand years, is the same with the kingdom of the Son of man and saints 
of the Most Higli in Daniel. 

" Ergo, It also begins at the great judgment. 

" That the kingdom in Daniel and that of a thousand years in the Apoca- 
lypse are one and the same kingdom, appears thus : 

" First, because they begin ab eodem termino, namely, at the destruction 
of the fourth beast : that in Daniel, when the beast (then ruling in the wicked 
horn J was slain, and his body destroyed and given to the burning flame 
(Dan. yii. 11, 22, 27.) : that in the Apocalypse, when tfa beast and the false 



u 

not see me henceforth till you say, Blessed is he that 
cometh in the name of the Lord*, seems to imply some 
such matter. They will never believe that Christ reigns 
at the right hand of God, until they see him. It must 
be an invincible evidence which must convert them, after 
so many hundred years settled obstinacy. But this I 
speak of the body of the nation ; there may be some Pr<z- 
ludia of some particulars converted upon other motives, 
as a forerunner of the great and main conversion f." 
To this opinion of Mr. Mede it was objected by Dr. 
Twisse, how such a vision could be manifested to the 
Jews dispersed in several parts of the world. The answer 
was, that a vision or apparition in heaven may be seen by 
the greatest part of the world at the same time, as stars 

prophet (the wicked horn in Daniel) were taken, and both cast alive into a lake 
burning with brimstone. Rev. xix. 20, 21. 

" Secondly, Because St. John begins the regiium of a thousand years from 
the same session of judgment described in Daniel ; as appears by his parallel 
expression borrowed from thence. 



St. John says, Chap. xx. 
4. I saw thrones, and they sat upon 
them. 

And judgment was given unto them. 

And the saints lived and reigned with 
Christ a thousand years. 



" Daniel says, Chap. vii. 

" 9. / beheld till the thrones were 
pitched down — and the judgment (i. e. 
judges) sat. 

" 22. And judgment was given to the 
saints of the Most High. 

(e And the saints possessed the king- 
dom ; viz. with the Son of man who 
came in the clouds. 

" Now, if this be sufficiently proved, that the thousand years begin with 
the day of judgment, it will appear further out of the Apocalypse, that the 
judgment is not consummate till they be ended ; for Gog and Magog's des- 
truction and the universal resurrection is not till then : therefore the whole 
thousand years is included in the day of judgment. 

lt Hence it will follow, that, whatsoever Scripture speaks of a kingdom of 
Christ to be at his second appearing or at the destruction of Antichrist, it must 
needs be the same which Daniel saw should be at that time, and so conse- 
quently be the kingdom of a thousand years which the Apocalypse includes 
between the beginning and consummation of the great judgment" Mede's 
Works, B. iv. Epist. 15. p. 762, 763. 

In short, the whole matter may be briefly stated as follows. The day of 
Christ's second advent or the great day of judgment commences at the close of 
the 1260 years, when the vengeance of God begins to go forth against the 
Antichristian faction ; extends through the period of the Millennium ; and ter- 
minates with the final destination of all mankind either to everlasting happi- 
ness or everlasting misery. Hence this day of the second advent comprehends 
two manifestations of the Messiah ; the one previous to the Millennium for 
the destruction of Antichrist, the other subsequent to the Millennium for the 
universal judgment both of quick and dead. The first of these manifestations 
is predicted in Dan. vii. 9, 10, 11, 18, 22, 26, 27. and Rev. xix. 11—21. the 
second is predicted in Rev. xx. 11 — 15. 

* Zechar. xii. 10. Matt, xxiii. 39. 

f Mede's* Works, B. iv. Epist. xiv. P. 761. 



15 

and comets are : how else shall the appearing of our Sa- 
viour in the clouds of heaven, at his coming to judgment, 
be seen at once by so many nations of the world? Mr. 
Mede adds, " Howsoever it be, I suppose it is no sin ta 
conceive magnificence and ^sttovI^ of so great a work of 
God towards a people for whom he hath formerly shewn 
so many wonders ; especially this being to be the greatest 
work of mercy and wonder that ever he did for them, far 
beyond the bringingthem forth of Egypt, and leading them 
in the wilderness*. " And, in another part of his works, 
he draws a comparison between St. Paul's conversion and 
the calling of the Jews, supposing the one to be a kind of 
type of the otherf. 

My objection to Mr. Mede's opinion, in the manner 
in which he has stated it, is neither its improbability nor 
its impossibility abstractedly considered ; w but simply that 
it cannot be made to harmonize with the general tenor 
of the prophecies which treat of the restoration and con- 
version of the Jews. It is expressly declared by Zecha- 
riah, that the glory of the Lord shall be manifested in the 
midst of Jerusalem ; and that, after such manifestation, 
Jehovah sent by Jehovah shall go forth and execute judg- 
ment upon his enemies. All the other prophets agree 
in attesting the same ; that, whenever the Word of God 
is revealed, it shall be to pour destruction upon the rebel 
army of Antichrist. This glory will most probably be the 
same as the Shechinah that attended the children of Israel 
out of Egypt : a vast pillar of light, shooting up to an im- 
mense height in the air so as to be visible at a very great 
distance, and surmounted by a cloud ; thus causing Je- 
rusalem to appear, as if encompassed and covered with 
fire. Now, if such a tremendous vision as this continu- 
ed to hover over Jerusalem (for that is the place assigned 
by the prophet for its appearance) ; and if the end of its 
manifestation were to attract the attention of the scattered 
Jews, and to effect their conversion, as Mr. Mede sup- 
poses : it is incredible, that Antichrist would ever dare to 
undertake such an expedition, as it is foretold that he 
shall undertake. Or, granting the utmost that can be 

* Mede's Works, B. iv. Epist. xvii. P. 767. 
f Mede's Works, B. v. C. 2. P. 891. 



16 

granted to daring impiety ; granting that Antichrist might 
harden his heart to attempt the conquest of Palestine, as 
Pharaoh did to seek the destruction of Israel at the Red 
sea, notwithstanding the fiery portent, increasing in ap- 
parent magnitude as he approached towards it, glared full 
before his eyes : yet we can scarcely believe, that he 
would be able* to effect the conquest of all Palestine, to 
bestow Jerusalem upon a band of unconverted Jews, to 
subdue Egypt, to return from thence in his fury, and to 
sack Jerusalem ; if the glory of the Lord were all this 
time in the midst of the city. Yet such must necessari- 
ly be our conclusion, if we adopt unreservedly Mr. Mede's 
opinion : for we are expressly told, that a part of the 
Jews shall be converted in Jerusalem, and that Jerusa- 
lem shall be sacked while in their possession. Of the 
two texts, which he cites from Zechariah and St. Mat- 
thew, the one seems to me by no means to prove his point, 
and the other to prove the direct contrary. I cannot 
think, that we have any warrant to suppose that the Jews, 
restored by Antichrist, will at the time of their conver- 
sion look upon him whom they have pierced any other- 
wise than spiritually, because their conversion precedes 
the sacking of Jerusalem ; whereas the manifestation of 
the Lord succeeds it, and immediately precedes the de- 
struction of Antichrist. Then indeed they will literally 
look upon him whom they have pierced, but not till then. 
And this opinion is decidedly confirmed by the other 
text, which proves the very reverse of what Mr. Mede 
intended that it should prove. Our Lord assures the 
Jews, that they shall not see him, until they say, Blessed 
is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Whence it is 
manifest, that they must first say, Blessed is he that com- 
eth in the name of the I^ord ; and afterwards behold him, 
whom they have so long rejected. This is precisely 
what I have supposed that they will do : whereas Mr. 
Mede exactly inverts the particulars of the text ; and ar- 
gues, that the Jews will first see the Messiah, and after- 
wards acknowledge him*. 

* Mr. Lowth supposes, like Mr. Mede, that the Jews will be converted in 
consequence of a supernatural manifestation of Christ. See his Comment, on 
Zech. xii. 10. 



17 

On the whole I think it clear, that the revelation o'i 
God's glory over Jerusalem, will at once succeed the con- 
version and restoration of Judah, the whole expedition of 
Antichrist ', and the sacking of the city ; that it will sud- 
denly take place, when the confederacy has reached the 
valley of Megiddo, and is on the point of overwhelming 
the troops of the maritime nation and the converted Jexvs 
under its protection ; and that, immediately after it has 
taken place, the Word of God, issuing from the bright- 
ness of the Shechinah with all the armies of heaven, will 
descend with irresistible violence on his irreclaimable 
enemies, and thus stupendously conclude the great apos- 
tatical drama of 1260 years. 

Since the Jews are to be restored in the midst of war 
and bloodshed, or, as Daniel expresses it, during a time 
of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, we 
may reasonably suppose that great numbers of them w T ill 
perish. Accordingly we find, that their return from the 
countries of their dispersion is expressly compared by 
Ezekiel to their ancient exodus from Egypt. As God 
pleaded with their fathers in the wilderness of the land of 
Egypt ; so will he likewise plead with them, causing 
them to pass under the rod, and purging out from among 
them the rebels. It is probable indeed, that only a small 
part of the first generation of those that are restored will 
quietly sit down under their own vines and under their 
own fig-trees. One whole generation of the Israelites, 
that were brought out of Egypt, perished in the course 
of forty years in the wilderness : and there is reason to 
think, as we shall presently see, that the conversion and 
restoration of Judah, and the expedition and destruction of 
Antichrist, will occupy a period of not less than 30 years. 
The swift messengers of the great maritime power will 
begin the work of converting the Jews, that is to say such 
Jews as are scattered through the countries subject to their 
influence : Antichris: meanwhile will collect the uncon- 
verted Jews from those parts of the isles of the Gentiles, 
or the regions of Europe*, which are under his immedi- 

* By the isles of the Gentiles the Jews understood all those countries which 
they could not reach from Palestine except by sea. Hence the name was {riven 
to Europe in contradistinction to Asia, which to thevi was strictly enntinen- 
tar. See Mede's Works, P. 272. and Mr Lowth's Comment, on Isaiah xi. II 

3 



18 

ate control, for the purpose of bringing them back in 
an unbelieving state to their own country : but whether 
he, or whether the maritime power, will absolutely begin 
the work of restoring the ancient people of God, cannot, 
I think, be certainly gathered from Scripture*. His plan 
will be a plan of pure Machiavelian policy : and consi- 
dering the frailty of human nature, it is much to be fear- 
ed that the plan of the maritime power, strenuously as 
that power will exert itself in converting no less than in 
collecting the Jews, will be somewhat alloyed by worldly 
motives, and will not be adopted simply from a desire to 
promote the glory of God* Most probably politics will 
have taken such a turn at that eventful period, as to make 
it seem to be the interest of both those great powers to 
attempt the restoration of the Jews. At this time, namely 
at the close of the 1260 years, and when the last vial 
begins to be poured out, Europe will be agitated by the 
storms of war. The symbolical earthquake of some ex- 
tensive political convulsion will divide the great city, or 
the Roman empire, into three parts ; and the cities, or 
kingdoms, of the nations will fall, when the mystic Baby- 
lon is now about to come in remembrance before God to 
give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his 
wrath. The division of the great city into three parts 
seems to denote a triple division of the federal empire of 
Antichrist, not improbably made in imitation of the three 
prefectures of the ancient Roman empire ; for Zechariah 
mentions three such parts as being engaged in the last 

* That the maritime power, mystically termed by Isaiah the ships of Tar- 
shish, will be the first, or (as the original expression is rendered by the lxx. 
and in the Latin translation of the Arabic version) among the Jirst, to attempt 
the conversion of the Jews ; and that they will afterwards bring- back to Pales- 
tine such as shall be converted by their instrumentality, seems to be revealed 
with sufficient plainness : but it is no where, I believe, positively declared, 
that they shall begin the work of restoring the Jews. Since part of them are 
to be brought back by Antichrist in an unconverted state, and part by the mari- 
time power in a converted state, it certainly is possible that Antichrist may be- 
g-in to restore the one division previous to the restoration or even the conversion 
of the other division. Most probably however the two events will be nearly, 
if not altogether, contemporary. The prophecy contained in Isaiah lx. 8, 9, 
relates solely to the restoration of the converted jews, because they are declar- 
ed to be brought unto the name of the Lord; and- we are taught that the 
ships of Tarshish shall be among the first to undertake this great enter- 
prize, 



19 

war in Palestine *. In the midst of these wars and revo- 
lutions, Antichrist will begin his grand expedition for the 
purpose of conquering Egypt and the Holy land, and of 
restoring his vassal allies the unconverted Jews, Uni- 
formly successful in the beginning of his project, he will 
apparently reach the place of his destination and fix the 
apostate Jews in Jerusalem, before the maritime power 
shall have been able to convert, to collect, and to bring by 
sea to their own land, the other great body of the Jexvs ; 
although that power is represented as being foremost in 
the work of converting certain members of Judah, and as 
afterwards restoring them when they have been so con- 
verted. Thus doubly brought back by two mighty con- 
tending nations, and thus plunged into the midst of perils 
and of war during the space of thirty years (for so long a 
period will probably intervene between the first effusion 
of the seventh vial at the close of the 1260 years when 
they begin to be restored, and the destruction of Antichrist 
at Megiddo), the Jews must inevitably suffer many cala- 
mities ; and we are taught accordingly by Ezekiei, that 
such will assuredly be the case. The whole of this is 
perfectly consonant with the ordinary course of the divine 
justice. National wickedness can only be nationally pun- 
ished : and the long impenitence of the Jewish people 
will not at the last, even during the very time of their 
restoration, be either overlooked or unrequited. 

When the army of Antichrist is miraculously over- 
thrown, the Lord, who forgetteth not mercy even in the 
midst of judgment, will not make an entire end ; but will 
spare some of the least guilty of his enemies, reserving 
them for the noblest purposes. Zechariah teaches us, 
that even so much as a third part shall be spared. These 
may be supposed to be less hardened in wickedness than 
their associates ; and to have engaged in the expedition, 
either through the inveterate prejudices of a Popish edu- 
cation (the expedition having been blessed and sanctified 
by the false prophet ), or through the tyrannical compul- 
sion which we have already beheld An ti christian France 

* I of course wish this to be understood as a mere conjecture. It is very 
possible, that the three parts engaged in the Antichristian t»ar may have no con- 
nection with the three divisions of the great city. 



20 

begin to exercise over her degraded federal allies- Nor 
will they only be spared : plucked as brands out of the 
burning, they will likewise be converted by the mercy of 
God to a zealous profession of genuine Christianity. 
When two parts are cut off, and die, in all the land ; the 
third part shall be left therein. And the Lord will bring 
the third part through the fire, and will refine them as 
silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried. They 
shall call on his name, and he will hear them. He will 
say, It is my people : and they shall say, The Lord is my 
God. 

Thus wonderfully preserved and converted, they will 
become proper instruments to accomplish the yet unful- 
filled purposes of the Most High. Scattered over the 
face of the whole earth, they will carry every where the 
tidings of their own defeat, of the marvellous power of 
the Lord, and of the restoration of Judah. Meanwhile we 
may suppose the awful apparition of the Shechinah still 
to remain suspended over Jerusalem, visible from its stu- 
pendous height to an immense distance, and bearing am- 
ple attestation to the veracity of the fugitives *. Nor will 
they carry their message in vain. Judah is indeed restored : 
but the lost ten tribes of Israel are still dispersed through 
the extensive regions of the North and of the East. These., 
according to the sure word of prophecy, however they 
may be now concealed from mortal knowledge, will be 
found again, and will be brought back into the country 
of their fathers. All nations, and all tongues, shall come 
and see the glory of the -Lord; for he will set among 
them a sign, even the sign of the Son of man, the sign 
of the illuminated Shechinah; and will send unto them 
those that have escaped from the slaughter of the Anti- 
christian confederacy, that they may declare his glory, 
among the nations. Convinced by ocular demonstration 
that God doth indeed reign in Zion, and at once divinely 
impelled .and enabled both to seek out from among them 
and to find the long-lost sheep of the house of Israel, they 

* I apprehend It was from passages of this import, that Mr. Mede suppos- 
ed that the Jews would be converted by a supernatural manifestation of 
Christ. IL.d he snidfh£te?i tribes, instead of the Jews, I believe he would 
have approached very near to the truth,, 



21 

will bring by land, in vast caravans, all the brethren of 
Judah for an offering unto the Lord, as the great mari- 
time power had already brought the converted Jews for a 
present unto the Lord to his holy mountain. Then 
shall the stick of Joseph be united for ever with the stick 
of Judah : Ephraim shall be no more a separate people: 
but the whole house of Jacob shall become one nation un- 
der one king, even the mystic David, Jesus the Messiah. 
The various prophecies, which speak of the restoration 
of the ten tribes, certainly cannot relate to the restoration 
of those detached individuals out of them, who returned 
with Judah from the Babylonian captivity. This is mani- 
fest, both because their restoration is represented as per- 
fectly distinct from the restoration of Judah, and because 
it is placed at once subsequent to that event and to the 
overthrow of Antichrist. In fact, the converted fugitives 
from the army of Antichrist are described as being great- 
ly instrumental in bringing about the restoration of the 
ten tribes. Hence their restoration is plainly future : 
and hence we cannot, with any degree of consistency, 
apply the predictions which foretell it to the return of a 
few individuals from Babylon with Judah. " It is sur- 
prizing," says Bp. Horsley, when treating of one out of 
the many prophecies, that explicitly declare the future 
restoration and union both of Judah and Israel* ; " It is 
surprizing, that the return of Judah from the Babylonian 
captivity should ever have been considered, by any Chris- 
tian divine, as the principal object of this prophecy, and 
an event in which it has received its full accomplishment. 
It was indeed considered as an inchoate accomplishment, 
but not more than inchoate, by St. Cyril of Alexandria. 
The expositors of antiquity, in such cases, were too apt 

* Ilosea i. 10, 11. "Nevertheless the number of the children of Israel 
shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured, and cannot be 
counted ; and it shall be, that, in the place where it was said unto them, No 
people of mine are ye, there it shall be said unto them, Children of the living- 
God. And the children of Judah shall be collected, and the children of 
Israel shall be united, and they shall appoint themselves one head, and 
come up from the earth. For great shall be the day of Jezrael" — That is to 
say, as Bp. Horsley remarks very justly, "Great and happy shall be the 
day, when the holy seed of both branches of the natural Israel shall be pub- 
lickly acknowledged of their God ; united under one head, their king- Mes- 
siah ; and restored to the possession of the promised land, and to a situation 
<sf high pre-eminence among the nations of the earth " 



22 

to take up with some circumstances of general resem- 
blance, without any critical examination of the terms of 
a prophecy, or of the detail of the history to which they 
applied it. The fact is, that this prophecy has no relation 
to the return from Babylon m a single circumstance. And 
yet the absurd interpretation, which considers it as ful- 
filled and finished in that event, has of late been adopted. 
But what was the number of the returned captives, that 
it should be compared to that of the sands upon the sea- 
shore ? The number of the returned, in comparison with 
the whole captivity, was nothing. Then Judah and Is- 
rael shall appoint themselves one head — Zorobabel, says 
Grotius. But how was Zorobabel one head of the rest 
of Israel, as well as Judah ? A later critic answers, After 
the return from Babylon, the distinction between the king- 
doms of Israel and Judah ceased. But how was it, this 
distinction ceased ? In this manner, I apprehend, The 
kingdom of Israel had been abolished above 180 years 
before ; Judah alone existed as a body politic ; and the 
house of Judah returned under their leader Zorobabel, 
with some few stragglers of the captivity of the ten tribes. 
And no sooner were the returning captives settled in Ju- 
dea, than those of the ten tribes, joining with the mon- 
grel race which they found in Samaria, separated them- 
selves from Judah, and set up a leader and a schismatical 
worship of their own. Was this any such incorporation, 
as the prophecy describes, of Judah and the rest of Israel 
under one sovereign * ? To interpret the prophecy in this 
manner is to make it little better than a paltry quibble ; 
more worthv of the Delphic tripod, than of the Scripture 
of truth f."' 

Of the Jews, who were carried away captive to Baby- 
lon, only a very small part, according to Houbigant % not 
more than a hundredth part, returned to their own coun- 
try. Those, who were left behind, will doubtless, at the 
time of the second advent, be brought back along with 
their brethren of the ten tribes ; just as those individuals 
of the ten tribes, who returned with Judah from Babylon, 

* This two-fold return and incorporation of Judah and Israel is yet more de- 
finitely predicted by Ezekiel than by Hosea. See Ezek. xxxvii. 15 — 28. 
t Bp. Horsley's Hosea, p, 59, 60. ± Cited by Bp. Horsley. 



23 

and (adhering to him notwithstanding the Samaritan 
schism) were afterwards scattered with him by th,. Ro- 
mans, will be brought back with their brethren the Jews, 
So far, but no further, the otherwise distinct restorations 
of Judah and Joseph will in some measure be mingled 
together. This circumstance is very accurately noted by 
Ezekiel, even when predicting the two-fold restoration of 
Judah and Joseph, and their subsequent union under one 
king. He speaks neither of Judah nor Joseph simply ; 
but styles the one division Judah and the children of Israel 
his companions, and the other division Joseph and all the 
house of Israel his companions * : thus plainly intimating, 
that some of the children of Israel shall return with Judah; 
but that members of all the tribes, not of the kingdom 
of the ten tribes only, but of all the tribes, shall return 
with Joseph. 

And here we cannot but observe the strict justice of 
God in arranging the manner of this two-fold restoration. 
Judah, with many more advantages than Israel, sinned nev- 
ertheless yet deeper than he did. They were both equally 
guilty of idolatry : but Judah, that is to say, that part of 
Judah which returned from Babylon, added to all his for- 
mer iniquities the deep guilt of rejecting and crucifying 
the Lord of life. Hence we find, that, while he is restor- 
ed, partly in a converted and partly in an unconverted 
state, through many wars, perils and afflictions, and dur- 
ing a time of unexampled trouble : Israel, and his com- 
panions of Judah, to whom the Saviour had never been 
offered, return after the destruction of Antichrist, wlwlly 
in a converted state '\, escorted honourably and joyfully 
by all nations, free from ail dangers, exempt from all dif- 
ficulties, during the earliest dawnings of the peaceful day 
of millennian blessedness. 

It may probably be asked, How can the ten tribes ever 
be discovered and restored after the lapse of so many 

* Ezek. xxxvii. 16. 

f This is manifest from Isaiah's declaration, that they should be brought 
an offering to the Lord, us the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean 
vessel into the house of the Lord. See Chap. Ixvi. 18,' 19, 20. The Phraseo- 
logy is perfectly parallel to that of the two passages, wherein the restoration 
of the converted division of Judah, by the great maritime power, is predicted. 
See Isaiah xviii. 7. and Zephan. iii. 9, 10. 



24 

centuries, during which they have been completely lost 
and mingled among the nations of the east ? The Jews 
indeed tell us many marvellous stories of their yet exist- 
ing as a distinct body politic in a large and spacious 
country with fine cities : but no one knows to this day, 
where it is situated *. 

To such a question it would be sufficient simply to 
answer, I know not. The restoration of the ten tribes is 
expressly foretold, and is therefore an article of faith. 
With the manner of their discovery I presume not to 
concern myself. I know that all things are possible with 
God : and therefore I know, that he, who at the last day 
will collect our scattered members and raise our long- 
dissolved bodies from the dust, can with equal ease col- 
lect the scattered members of Israel, and discover them 
however lost among the nations whither they have been 
led away captive. Indeed it is worthy of notice, that the 
resurrection of the body is repeatedly used by the pro- 
phets to typify the political revival of Judah and Israel, 
and by none of them with more minute particularity of 
circumstance than Ezekiel : insomuch that I know not 
a better commentary upon the manner of their discovery 
and restoration, than the elaborate parable, with which he 
ushers in a literal prediction of those wonderful events f. 

But it is a very remarkable circumstance, that, pre- 
cisely at the present era, an era marked so strongly by 
the signs of the times, as to give us every reason to be- 
lieve, that we are living in the predicted last days of An- 
tichristian blasphemy, and that the 1260 years are rapid- 
ly drawing near to their termination : it is, I say, a re- 
markable circumstance that, at this very era, a people 
should begin to attract our notice in the East Indies, 
which appear to be a fragment either of the lost ten tribes, 
or of the Jews that never returned from the Babylonian 
captivity. In my former more general work on prophe- 
cy, I thought it sufficient barely to mention this people J : 
in my present, which exclusively treats of the restoration 

* SeeBp. Newton's Dissert, vm. 1. 

f See Ezek. xxxvii. 

% Dissert on the 1260 years, Vol. n. p. 350, (2d. Edit. p. 387.) 



25 

§f Israel and the overthrow of Antichrist, a more copi- 
ous account of them will be strictly in place *. 

The late Mr. Vansittart was the first, I believe, who 
brought forward to public notice the traditions of the 

* I have read a work entitled, The History of the American Indians, by 
James Adair, Esq. a trader with the Indians, and resident in the country for 40 
years, which, if it be authentic, is singularly curious and interesting- ; but I 
know not what degree of credit it bears, or how far his account is confirmed 
by those of other travellers and residents. 

" From the most exact observation," says he, " that I could make in the 
long time I traded among the Indian Americans, 1 was forced to believe them 
Ideally descended from the Israelites, either while they were a maritime 
power, or soon after the general captivity ; the latter however is the most 
probable — Had the nine tribes and a half of Israel, which were carried off 
by Shalmaneser king of Assyria and settled in Media, continued there long ; 
it is very probable, by intermarrying with the natives and from their natural 
fickleness and proneness to idolatry and the force of example, that they 
would have adopted and bowed before the Gods of the Medes and Assyri- 
ans, and have carried them along with them : but there is not a trace of this 
idolatry among the Indians." Hence he argues, that those of the ten tribes, 
who were the forefathers of the Americans, soon advanced eastward from 
Assyria, and reached their settlements in the new continent before the des- 
truction of the first temple. 

In proof of the Americans being thus descended, he adduces the following 
arguments. 1. Their division into tribes. 2- Their worship of Jehovah. 
3. Their notions of a theocracy. 4. Their belief in the ministration of an- 
gels. 5. Their language and dialects. 6. Their manneiv of counting time. 
7. Their prophets and high-priests. 8. Their festivals, fasts, and religi- 
ous rites. 9. Their daily sacrifice. 10. Their ablutions, and anointings. 
11. Their laws of uncleanness. 12. Their abstinence from unclean things. 
13. Their marriages, divorces, and punishment of adultery. 14. Their several 
punishments. 15. Their cities of refuge. 16. Their purifications, and cere- 
monies preparatory. 17. Their ornaments. 18. Their manner of curing the 
sick. 19. Their burial of their dead. 20. Their mourning for their dead. 
21. Their raising seed to a deceased brother. 22 Their choice of names 
adapted to their circumstances and the times. 23. Their own traditions ; the 
accounts of our English writers ; and the testimonies, which the Spanish and 
other writers have given concerning the primitive inhabitants of Peru and 
Mexico. 

A few extracts from what is said under these different heads may not be 
unacceptable. 

1. " As the nation hath its particular symbol ; so each tribe, the badge 
from which it is denominated. The Sachem of each tribe is a necessary par- 
ty in conveyances and treaties, to which he affixes the mark of his tribe. If 
we go from nation to nation among them, we shall not find one, who doth not 
lineally distinguish himself by his respective family. The genealogical names, 
which they assume, are derived either from the names of those animals 
whereof the Cherubim are said in revelation to be compounded, or from such 
creatures as are mostfimiliar to them. The Indians however bear no religi- 
ous respect to the animals from whence they derive their name : on the con- 
trary, they kill them when opportunity serves. When we consider that these 
savages have been above twenty centuries without the use of letters to cany 
down their traditions, it cannot reasonably be expected, that they should 
still retain the identical names of their primogenial tribes : their main cus- 
toms corresponding with those of the Israelites sufficiently clears the subject. 
Besides, as hath been hinted, thev call some of their Mpibea bv the names of 

4 



26 

Afghans or Rohillas. Having met with a Persian abridg- 
ment of the Asrarul Afaghinah, or the secrets of the 
Afghans, he was induced to translate it, and to transmit 
it to Sir William Jones then president of the Asiatic so- 

the cherubinical figures that were carried on the four principal standards of 
Israel. 

2. "By a strict permanent divine precept, the Hebrew nation were order- 
ed to worship, at Jerusalem, Jehovah the true and living- God, who by the 
Indians is styled Toheiuah ; which the 72 interpreters, either from ignorance 
or superstition, have translated Adonai, the very same as the Greek Kyrius, 
signifying Sir, Lord, or Master, which is commonly applied to earthly poten- 
tates without the least signification or relation to, that most great and awful 
name which describes the divine essence. 

3. " Agreeably to the theocracy or divine government of Israel, the Indi- 
ans think the Diety to be the immediate head of their state — All the nations 
of Indians are exceedingly intoxicated with religious pride, and have an inex- 
pressible contempt of the white people— They used to call us, in their war 
orations, the accursed people : but they flatter themselves with the name of the 
beloved people ; because their supposed ancestors, as they affirm, were under 
the immediate government of the Deity, who was present with them in a ve- 
ry peculiar manner and directed them by prophets, while the rest of the 
■world were aliens and outlaws to the covenant— When the old Archimagus, 
or any one of their Magi, is persuading the people at their religious solem- 
nities to a strict observance of the old beloved or divine speech, he always 
calls them the beloved or holy people, agreeably to the Hebrew epithet Ammi 
(my people) during the theocracy of Israel— It is their opinion of the theo- 
cracy, or that God chose them out of all the rest of mankind as his peculiar 
and beloved people, which alike animates both the white Jew and the red 
American with that steady hatred against all the world except themselves, 
and renders them hated or despised by all. 

5. " The Indian language and dialects appear to have the very idiom and 
genius of the Hebrew. Their words and sentences are expressive, concise, 
emphatical, sonorous, and bold ; and often, both in letters and signification, 
are synonymous with the Hebrew language." Here follows a number of ex- 
amples. 

6. " They count time after the manner of the Hebrews. They divide the 
year into spring, summer, autumn, and winter. They number their year 
from any of those four periods, for they have no name for a year ; and they 
subdivide these, and count the year by lunar months, like the Israelites who 
counted by moons as their name sufficiently testifies— -The number and regu- 
lar periods of the Indians' religious feasts is a good historical proof, that they 
counted time by, and observed, a weekly sabbath long after their arrival on 
the American continent — They began the year at the first appearance of the 
first new moon of the vernal equinox, according to the ecclesiastical year of 
Moses — Till the 70 years captivity commenced, the Israelites had only nume- 
ral names for the solar and lunar months, except Abib and Ethatiim ■: the for- 
mer signifies a green car of corn ; and the latter robust or valiant : and by the 
first name the Indians, as an explicative, term their passover, which the 
trading people call the green corn dance." He then gives a specimen of the 
Hebrew manner of counting, in order to prove its similarity to that of the 
Indians. 

7. " In conformity to, or after the manner of the Jews, the Indian Ameri- 
cans have their prophets, high-priests, and others of a religious order. As 
the Jews had a sanctum sanctorum, so have all the Indian nations. There they 
deposit their consecrated vessels ; — none of the laity daring to approach that 
sacred place — The Indian tradition says, that their forefathers were possess- 



27 

eiety. It opens, as he justly observes, with a very wild 
description of the origin of that tribe, and contains a nar- 
rative which can by no means be offered upon the whole 
as a serious and probable history : yet the knowledge of 

ed of an extraordinary divine spirit, by which they foretold thing's future, and 
controlled the common course of nature : and this they transmitted to their 
offspring, provided they obeyed the sacred laws annexed to it — Ishtoallo is 
the name of all their priestly order ; and their pontifical office descends by 
inheritance to the eldest — There are some traces of agreement, though chief- 
ly lost, in their pontifical dress. Before the Indian Archimagus officiates in 
making the supposed holy fire for the yearly atonement of sin, the Sagan 
clothes him with a white ephod, which is a waistcoat without sleeves. — In 
resemblance of the Urim and Thummim, the American Archimagus wears 
a breastplate made of a white conch-shell with two holes bored in the middle 
of it, through which he puts the ends of an otter-skin strap, and fastens a 
buck-horn white button to the outside of each, as if in imitation of the pre- 
cious stones of the Urim." Upon this statement I may observe, that Ishtoallo 
may perhaps be a corruption of Ish-da-Eloah, a man of God (See 2 Kings iv. 
21, 22, 25, 27, 40, et alibi) ; and that Sagan is the very name, by which the 
Hebrews called the deputy of the High-Priest, who supplied his office, and 
who performed the functions of it, in the absence of the High-Priest, or 
when any accident had disabled him from officiating in person. (See Calmet's 
Diet. Vox Sagan.) 

8. " The ceremonies of the Indians in their religious worship are more 
after the Mosaic institution, than of pagan imitation ; which could not be, if 
the majority of the old nation were of heathenish descent — They are utter 
strangers to all the gestures practised by the pagans in their religious rites 
— They have another appellative, which with them is the mysterious essential 
name of God ; the tetragrammaton, or great four -lettered name, which they 
never name in common speech : of the time, and place, when, and where, 
they mention it, they are very particular, and always with a solemn air— It is 
well known what sacred regard the Jews had to the four-lettered divine 
name, so as scarcely ever to mention it, but once a year when the High- 
Priest went into the sanctuary at the expiation of sins. Might not the Indians 
copy from them this sacred invocation Yo-He-Wah ? Their method of invok- 
ing God in a solemn hymn with that reverential deportment, and spending a 
full breath on each of the two first syllables of the awful divine name, hath a 
surprizing analogy to the Jewish custom, and such as no other nation or peo- 
ple, even with the advantage of written records have retained— It may be 
worthy of notice, that they never prostrate themselves, nor bow their bodies 
to each other, by way of salute or homage, though usual with the eastern na- 
tions ; except when they are making, or renewing, peace with strangers, who 
come in the name of Yah." After speaking of their sacred adjuration by the 
great and awful name of God, he says : " When we consider, that the period 
of the adjurations, according to their idiom, only asks a question, and that 
the religious waiters say Yah with a profound reverence in a bowing posturc- 
6f body immediately before they invoke Yo-He-Wah ; the one reflects so 
much light upon the other, as to convince me that the Hebrews both invoked 
and pronounced the divine tetragrammaton Yo-He-Wah, and adjured their 
witnesses to give true evidence on certain occasions according to the Indian 
usage : otherwise, how could they possibly in a savage state have a custom 
so nice and strong pointing a standard of religious caution ? It seems exacth 
to coincide with the conduct of the Hebrew witnesses even now, on the like 
religious occasions." According to Mr. Adair, the American Indians have, 
like the Hebrews, a sacred ark, in which are kept various holy vessels. " It 
is highly worthy of notice that they never nlace the ark on the ground, no- 



28 , 

what a nation supposes itself to be, more especially if it 
trace its descent from the stock of Jacob, cannot fail to 
be interesting. In fact, although the Afghans are most 
probably mistaken in fixing the period at which they 

sit on the t>are earth while they are carrying it against the enemy. On hilly 
ground where stones are plenty, they place it on them ; but, in a level land, 
upon short logs, always resting themselves on the like materials. They have 
also as strong a faith of the power and holiness of their ark, as ever the Isra- 
lites retained of theirs. The Indian ark is deemed so sacred and dangerous 
to be touched, either by their own sanctified warriors, or the spoiling ene- 
my, that they dare not touch it upon any account. It is not to be meddled 
with by any except the chieftain and his waiter, under penalty of incurring 
great evil : nor would the most inveterate enemy touch it, for the same rea- 
son. The leader virtually acts the part of a priest of war pro-tempore, in 
imitation of the Israelites fighting under the divine military banner — As re- 
ligion is the touchstone of every nation of people ; and as these Indians can- 
not be supposed to have been deluded out of theirs, separated from the rest 
of the world for many long forgotten ages, the traces, which may be discerned 
among them, will help to corroborate the other arguments concerning their 
origin." Among their other religious rites, they cut out the sinewy part of 
the thigh. This custom Mr. Adair supposes to be commemorative of the an- 
gel wrestling with Jacob. See Gen. xxxii. 32. 

12. " Eagles of every kind they esteem unclean food ; likewise fravens, 
crows, bats, buzzards, swallows, and every species of owl. They believe, 
that swallowing flies, gnats, and the like, always breeds sickness. To this 
that divine sarcasm alludes, " swallowing a camel and straining at a gnat?' 
Their purifications for their priests, and for having touched a dead body or 
other unclean things, are, according to Mr. Adair, quite Levitical. He ac- 
knowledges however, that they have no traces of circumcision ; but thinks 
that they lost this rite in their wanderings, as it ceased during the 40 years 
in the wilderness. 

15. "The Israelites had cities of refuge for those who killed a person una- 
wares. According to the same particular divine law of mercy, each of these 
Indian nations have either a house or town of refuge, which is a sure asylum 
to protect a man-slayer or the unfortunate captive, if they can once enter into 
it. In almost every Indian nation there are several peaceable towns, called 
old beloved, ancient, holy, or white, towns. They seem to have been former- 
ly towns of refuge : for it is not in the memory of their oldest people that 
ever human blood was shed in them, although they often force persons from 
thence and put them to death elsewhere." 

16. " Before the Indians go to war, they have many preparatory ceremo- 
nies of purification and fasting, like what is recorded of the Israelites. 

21. «' The surviving brother, by the Mosaic law, was to raise seed to a 
deceased brother, who left a widow childless. The Indian custom looks the 
very same way : yet it is in this, as in their law of blood, the eldest brother 
can redeem. 

23. " Although other resemblances of the Indian rites and customs to those 
of the Hebrews might be pointed out, not to seem tedious, I proceed to the 
last argument of thex>rigin of the Indian Americans ; which shall be from their 
own traditions, from the accounts of our English writers, and from the tes- 
timonies which the Spanish writers have given concerning the primitive in- 
habitants of Peru and Mexico. 

* The Indian tradition says, that their forefathers in very remote ages came 
from a far distant country, where all the people ,were of one colour ; and that, 
in process of time, they moved eastward to their present settlements. So 
that what some of our writers have asserted is not just, who say the Indians 



believe themselves to have branched out from the parent 
tree, for Scripture affords not the least warrant to their 
opinion ; yet there is certainly nothing very irrational in 
supposing, that they may have been, at some time or 

affirm, that there were originally three different tribes in those countries." 
Here Mr. Adair gives a fabulous story. " This story sprung- from the inno- 
vating superstitious ignorance of the popish priests to the south-west of us. 
Our own Indian tradition is literal and not allegorical; and ought to be receiv- 
ed, because persons who have been long separated from the rest of mankind 
must know their own traditions the best, and could not be deceived in so ma- 
terial and frequently repeated an event. Though they have been disjoined 
through different interests time immemorial, yet (the rambling tribes of north- 
ern Indians excepted) they aver that they came over the Missisippi from the 
westward, before they arrived at their present settlements. This we see 
verified by the western old towns they have left behind them, and by the si- 
tuation of their old beloved towns or places of refuge lying about a west 
course from each different nation. Such places in Judea were chiefly built 
in the most remote parts of the country ; and the Indians deem those only as 
beloved towns where they first settled. This tradition is corroborated by a 
current report of the old Chikkasah Indians to our traders, that about 40 
years since" (this was written in the year 1775) "there came from Mexico 
some of the cid Chikkasah nation in quest of their brethren as far north as the 
Aquakpah nation about 130 miles above the Nachee old towns on the south 
side of the Missisippi ; but, through French policy, they were either killed 
or sent back, so as to prevent their opening a brotherly intercourse as they 
had proposed. And it is worthy of notice, that the Muskohgeh cave, out of 
which one of their politicians persuaded them their ancestors formerly ascend- 
ed to their present terrestrial abode, lies in the Nanne Hamgeh old town, in- 
habited by the Missisippi Nachee Indians, which is one of the most western 
parts of their old inhabited country — The old waste towns of the Chikkasah 
lie to the west and south-west, from whence they have lived since the time 
we first opened a trade with them ; on which course they formerly went to 
war over the Missisippi, because they knew it best, and had disputes with 
the natives of those parts, when they first came from thence. Wisdom di- 
rected them to connive at some injuries on account of their itinerant camp of 
women and children : for their tradition says it consisted of 10,000 men be- 
sides women and children, when they came from the west and passed over 
the Missisippi. The fine breed of running wood horses, which they brought, 
with them, were the present Mexican or Spanish barbs. They also aver, that 
their ancestors cut off and despoiled the greatest part of a caravan loaded 
with gold and silver : but the carriage of it proved so troublesome to them, 
that they threw it into a river, where it could not benefit the enemy — 

" Ancient history is quite silent concerning America, which indicates, that 
it has been time immemorial rent asunder from the African continent, ac- 
cording to Plato's Timeus. The north-east parts of Asia were also undisco- 
vered till of late. Many geographers have stretched Asia and America so 
far as to join them together, and others have divided those two quarters of 
the globe at a great distance from each other. But the Russians,' after seve- 
ral dangerous attempts, have clearly convinced the world that they are now 
divided, and yet have a near communication together by a narrow straight, 
in. which several islands arc situated, through which there is an easy passage 
from the north-east of Asia to the north-west of America by the way ot 
Kamschatka, which probably joined to the north-west point of America. By 
this passage, supposing the main continents were separated, it was ver\ 
practicable for the inhabitants to go to this extensive new world, and after- 
Wards to have proceeded in quest of suitable climates, according to the law 



30 

other, and in some manner or other, connected at least 
with the ancient Israelites. 

" The Afghans ', according to their own traditions, are 
the posterity of Melic Talut, or king Saul ; who, in the 
opinion of some, was a descendant of Judah, the son of 
Jacob ; and, according to others, of Benjamin, the brother 
of Joseph. In a war, which raged between the children 
of Israel and the Amalekites, the latter, being victorious, 
plundered the Jews, and obtained possession of the ark 
of the covenant. Considering this the god of the Jews, 
they threw it into the fire, which did not affect it. They 
afterwards attempted to cleave it with axes ; but without 
success. Every individual, who treated it with indignity, 
was punished for his temerity. They then placed it in 
their temple ; but all their idols bowed to it. At length 
they fastened it upon a cow, which they turned loose in 
the wilderness. 

" When the prophet Samuel arose, the children of 
Israel said to him, We have been totally subdued by the 

of nature that directs every creature to such climes as are most convenient 
and agreeable. Such readers, as may dissent from my opinion of the Indian 
American origin and descent, ought to inform us how the natives came here, 
and by what means they formed the long chain of rites, customs, &c. so simi- 
lar to the usage of the Hebrew nation, and in general dissimilar to the modes 
of the pagan world — 

*' I presume, enough hath been said to point out the similarity between the 
rites and customs of the native American Indians, and those of the Israelites ; 
and that the Indian system is derived from the moral, ceremonial, and judi- 
cial, laws of the Hebrews, though now but a faintcopy of the divine original. 
Their religious rites, martial customs, dress, music, dances, and domestic 
forms of life, seem clearly to evince also, that they came to America in early 
times before sects had sprung up among the Jews ; which was soon after 
their prophets ceased, and before arts and sciences had arrived at any per- 
fection : otherwise it is likely they would have retained some knowledge of 
them, at least where they first settled, it being a favourite climate ; and con- 
sequently they were in a more compact body, than on this northern part of 
the American continent." 

The recent discoveries of Captain Cook respecting the streight which se- 
parates Asia and America are now laid down in every modern map. Dr. 
Robertson is decidedly of opinion, that all the Americans are of Asiatic ex- 
traction with the sole exception of the Esquimaux He further observes, that, 
according to the traditions of the Mexicans, " their ancestors came from a 
remote country, situated to the north-west of Mexico. The Mexicans point 
out their various stations as they advanced from this into the interior provin- 
ces ; and it is precisely the same route which they must have held, if they had 
been emigrants from Asia." Hist, of America," B. iv. Sect. 8. p. 41, 42, 43. 

With regard to the curious work of Mr. Adair, as I have no means of as- 
certaining its authenticity, I wish to be understood as giving no opinion what- 
soever upon it. ". Neque confirmare argumentis, neque refellere, in animo 
est : ex ingenio suo quisque demat, vel addat, fidem" 



31 

Amalekites, and have no king. Raise to us a king, that 
xve may be enabled to contend for the glory of God. Sa- 
muel said, In case you are led out to battle, are you deter- 
mined to fight ? They answered, What has befallen us that 
xve should not fight against Infidels ? That nation has ba- 
nished us from our country and children. At this time the 
angel Gabriel descended, and, delivering a wand, said, 
It is the command of God, that the person, xvhosc stature 
shall correspond with this xvand, shall be king of Israel. 

Melic Talut was at that time a man of inferior condi- 
tion, and performed the humble employment of feeding 
the goats and cows of others. One day a cow under his 
charge was accidentally lost. Being disappointed in his 
searches, he was greatly distressed, and applied to Samuel, 
saying, / have lost a cow, and do not possess the means of 
satisfying the oxuner. Pray for me, that I may be extri- 
cated from this difficulty. Samuel, perceiving that he was 
a man of lofty stature, asked his name. He answered, 
Talut. Samuel then said, Measure Talut with the wand 
which the angel Gabriel brought. His stature was equal 
to it. Samuel then said, God has raised Talut to be your 
king. The children of Israel answered, We are greater 
than our king. We are men of dignity, and he is of infe- 
rior condition. How shall he be our king ? Samuel in- 
formed them, that they should know that God had con- 
stituted Talut their king, by his restoring the ark of the 
covenant. He accordingly restored it, and they acknow- 
ledged him their sovereign. 

" After Talut obtained the kingdom, he seized part of 
the territories of Jalut, or Goliah ; who assembled a large 
army, but was killed by David. Talut afterwards died 
a martyr in a war against the Infidels ; and God consti- 
tuted David king of the Jews. 

M Melic Talut had two sons, one called Berkia, and 
the other Irmia, who served David, and were beloved by 
him. He sent them to fight against the infidels ; and, by 
God's assistance, they were victorious *, 

" The son of Berkia was named Afghan, and the son 
of Irmia was named Usbec. Those youths distinguished 

* Though Saul had not two sons of these names, yet the names thcmsclvc: 
are plainly Hebrew. Berkia is Barachia, and Irmia is Jeremiah. 



32 

themselves in the reign of David, and were employed 
by Solomon. Afghan was distinguished by his corpo- 
ral strength, which struck terror into demons •and genii. 
Usbec was eminent for his learning. 

" Afghan used frequently to make excursions to the 
mountains ; where his progeny, after his death, establish- 
ed themselves, lived in a state of independence, built 
forts, and exterminated the infidels. 

" When the select of creatures, Muhammad, appeared 
upon earth, his fame reached the Afghans, who sought 
him in multitudes under their leaders Khalid and Abdul 
Rashid, sons of Walid. The prophet honoured them 
with the most gracious reception, saying, Come, 
Muluc, or kings ; whence they assumed the title of Mu- 
lic, which they enjoy to this day. The prophet gave 
them his ensign, and said that the faith would be strength- 
ened by them. 

u Many sons were born 6f Khalid, the son of Walid, 
who signalized themselves in the presence of the prophet, 
by fighting against the Infidels. Muhammed honoured 
and prayed for them. ? 

" In the reign of the sultan Mahmud of Ghaznah, eight 
men arrived of the posterity of Khalid the son of Walid, 
whose names were Kalun, Alun, Daud, Yalua, Ahmed, 
Awin, and Ghazi. The sultan was much pleased with 
them, and appointed each a commander in his army. He 
also conferred on them the offices of Fazir, and Vakili 
Mutlak, or regent of the empire. 

" Wherever they were stationed, they obtained pos- 
session of the country, built mosques, and overthrew the 
temples of idols. They increased so much, that the 
army of Mahmud was chiefly composed of Afghans — 

" The Afghans now began to establish themselves in 
the mountains ; and some settled in cities with the per- 
mission of sultan Mahmud. They framed regulations, 
dividing themselves into four classes, agreeably to the fol- 
lowing description. The first is the pure class, consisting 
of those whose fathers and mothers were Afghans. The 
second class consists of those whose fathers were Afghans, 
and mothers of another nation. The third class contains 
those whose mothers were Afglians, and fathers of another 



33 

nation. The fourth class is composed of the children of 
women whose mothers were Afghans, and fathers and 
husbands of a different nation. Persons, who do not 
belong to one of these classes, are not called Afghans. 

" After the death of sultan Mahmud, they made ano- 
ther settlement in the mountains. Shihabuddin Gauri, 
a subsequent sultan of Gaznah, was twice repulsed from 
Hindustan. His Vazir assembled the people, and asked 
if any of the posterity of Khalid were living. They an- 
swered, Many now live in a state of independence in the 
mountains* where they have a considerable army. The 
Vazir requested them to go to the mountains, and by 
intreaties prevail on the Afghans to come ; for they were 
descendants of companions of the prophet. 

" The inhabitants of Ghaznah undertook this embas- 
sy ; and, by intreaties and presents, conciliated the minds 
of the Afghans, who promised to engage in the service of 
the sultan, provided he would come himself and enter 
into an agreement with them. The sultan visited them 
in their mountains, honoured them, and gave them dres- 
ses and other presents. They supplied him with 12,000 
horse, and a considerable army of infantry. Being dis- 
patched by the sultan before his own army, they took 
Dehli ; killed Hoy Patoura the king, his ministers, and 
nobles ; laid waste the city ; and made the infidels pri- 
soners. They afterwards exhibited nearly the same 
scene in Canauj. 

" The sultan, pleased by the reduction of those cities, 
conferred honours upon the Afghans. It is said, that he 
then gave them the titles of Patau and Khan. The word 
Patan is derived from the Hindi verb Paitna, to rush, in 
allusion to their alacrity in attacking the enemy. The 
Patans have greatly distinguished themselves in the 
history of Hindustan, and are divided into a variety of 
sects. 

" The race of Afghans possessed themselves of the 
mountain of Solomon, which is near Kandahar, and the 
circumjacent country, where they have built forts. This 
tribe has furnished many kings. The following monarchs 
of this race have set upon the throne of Dehli : sultan 
Behlole, Afghan Lodi, sultan Secander, sultan Ibrahim, 
5 



34 

Shir Shah, Islam Shah, Adil Shah Sur. They also 
number the following kings of Gaur : Solaiman Shah 
Gurzani, Bayazid Shah, and Kutb Shah ; besides whom 
their nation has produced many conquerors of provinces . 
The Afghans are called Solaimani ; either because they 
were formerly the subjects of Solomon king of the Jews, 
or because they inhabit the mountain of Solomon #." 

It must be confessed, that this Afghan tradition bears 
a strong resemblance to many of those Mohammedan 
legends, which are founded upon Scripture ; whence it is 
certainly not impossible, that a tribe of Mussulmans 
might be in possession of it without being descended 
from the house of Israel : yet I know not whether another 
instance can be produced of a nation, which professes 
the faith of Mohammed, believing itself to be of Jewish 
origin. It is easy to account for a tradition, which cor- 
responds with Scripture, being in the hands of Moham- 
medans : but it is not quite so easy to account for the 
circumstance of those Mohammedans claiming a Hebrew 
descent, unless we allow the validity of that claim. There 
are some points respecting them, in which Mr. Vansittart 
and Sir William Jones do not perfectly agree. The for- 
mer observes, that " they are great boasters of the antiqui- 
ty of their origin, and reputation of their tribe ; but that 
other Mussulmans entirely reject their claim, and consi- 
der them of modern and even base extraction." The 
latter, on the contrary, who is not wont to throw out 
assertions at random, adds the following note to the tra- 
dition ; whence it appears, that he was not disinclined to 
admit their claim. " This account of the Afghans may 
lead to a very interesting discovery. We learn from 
Esdras, that the ten tribes, after a wandering journey, 
came to a country called Arsareth ; where, we may sup- 
pose, they settled |. Now the Afghans are said, by the 
best Persian historians, to be descended from the Jews ; 
they have traditions among themselves of such a descent ; 
and it is even asserted, that their families are distinguish- 
ed by the names of Jewish tribes, although, since their 
conversion to the Islam, they studiously conceal their 

* Asiatic Researches, Vol, n. Numb. 4: 
f 2 Esdras xiii. 40—47- 



35 

origin. The Ptishto language, of which I have seen a 
dictionary, has a manifest resemblance to the Chaldaic ; 
and a considerable district under their dominion is called 
Hazareh or Hazaret, which might easily have been 
changed into the word used by Esdras. I strongly re- 
commend an inquiry into the literature and history of the 
Afghans:' 

From this interesting note of that great linguist we 
learn four very curious particulars, relative to the Af- 
ghans : 1 . that they have a tradition among themselves, 
that they are of Jewish origin, although not very forward 
to acknowledge their descent ; 2. that this is not a mere 
vague tradition, known only to themselves and ridiculed 
by their neighbours, but that the best Persian historians, 
with whose empire they have always been connected *, 
assert the very same ; 3. that a considerable district under 
their dominion is to this day called Hazaret, a word 
nearly resembling Arsareth, which (according to the 
apocryphal Esdras, whoever he might be, and at what- 
ever period he might live f) was the name of the country 
into which the ten tribes retired ; 4. and that their lan- 
guage has a manifest resemblance to the Chaldaic. 

Though I would not implicitly depend upon popular 
tradition, yet neither would I entirely reject it. In the 
present case however it is so remarkably supported, that 
we can scarcely refrain from giving it some degree of cre- 
dit. The best Persian historians sanction the popular be- 
lief of the Afghans : and, what has always been allowed to 
be one of the strongest proofs of national descent and re- 
lationship, their language manifestly resembles the Chal- 
daic. In mentioning Arsareth as the country to which 
the ten tribes retired, the apocryphal Esdras probably al- 
luded to a tradition respecting the fate of their brethren at 
that time familiar to the Jews : and we find, that a large 
part of the country of the Afghans, who believe themselves 
to be of Hebrew origin, and whose belief is at once cor- 
roborated by the best historians of Persia and by the cir- 

* " the Afghans ; a tribe, at different times subject to and always con- 
nected with the kingdoms of Persia and Hindustan." Mr. VansittarVs let- 
ter to Sir William Jones. 

f The reader will find the different opinions respecting the author of th-e 
second book of Esdras detailed in Dr. Gray's Key to the Old Testament. 



36 

cumstance of their language being a branch of the Chaldaic, 
is even to this day called Hazaret. The reader has now 
the evidence before him, and must judge for himself, 
whether the claim of the Afghans is to be allowed or re- 
jected. But, whatever be its fate, the prophecies respect, 
ing . the distinct restoration of Israel remain unaffected, 
and will surely be accomplished. 

Before I entirely quit this part of my subject, I shall 
notice a coincidence, which is at least curious, if it de- 
serve no better epithet. St. John tells us, that the sixth 
vial of God's wrath will be poured upon the river Eu- 
phrates, the waters of which will in consequence of it be 
dried up, in order that a way may be prepared for the 
Icings who are from the rising of the sun. Mr. Mede sup- 
poses, and (arguing from the analogy of language used 
in the Apocalypse) I think, incontrovertibly, that the ex- 
haustion of the Euphrates means the subversion of the Ot- 
toman empire : and he farther conjectures, that the kings, 
for whom this event is to prepare a way, are the Jews. 
Had he said the Israelites *, he would perhaps have ex- 
pressed himself with greater accuracy : for, if the passage 
do at all allude to the restoration of the house of Jacob, 
it relates more probably to that of the ten tribes, than to 
that of Judah. But why should either the Israelites or 
the Jexvs be styled kings ? Such a title accords very ill 
with the present condition of the Jews', and still worse 
with that of the Israelites, if they be so entirely lost and 
swallowed up, as some have imagined. Mr. Mede does 
not attempt to solve this difficulty. If however it should 
eventually prove that the Afghans are really the remains 
of the ten tribes, and if St. John speak of the restoration 
of those ten tribes under the name of kings from the east, 
we shall immediately perceive the singularly exact pro- 
priety with which he styles them kings. The whole race 
of the Afghans, as we have seen from the preceding ac- 
count of them, denominate themselves even to the pre- 

* Mr. Mede does at first indeed say Israelites, but he ever after speaks only 
of Jews (See Comment. Apoc. in loc.) I expressed myself with equal inac- 
curacy, when treating of the same subject in the first edition of my Dissert. 
on the 1260 years. The fact was, I had at that time indolently acquiesced in 
the commonly received opinion, as stated by Bp. Newton, that the ten tribes 
would only be restored conjointly with and included in the tribe of Judah. 



37 

sent day, in their Chaldaic dialect, Melic, or with the 
plural termination Melchim, in English, kings. They 
consider themselves as a royal nation ; and, according to 
their own tradition, claim their title of Melic from a grant 
of Mohammed whose religion they profess. If then they 
be of Hebrew extraction, the drying up of the mystic Eu- 
phrates, or the subversion of the Ottoman empire, would 
undoubtedly prepare a way for them both naturally and 
morally. A power would be removed, whose dominions 
now stretch between Persia and Palestine ; and one great 
branch of that false religion, by which the Afghans arc at 
present deluded, would be broken off. According to Mr. 
Vansittart, the sects of the Afghans are very numerous ; 
and they appear to be a nation formidable at once for its 
population, and for its bravery. " Their character may 
be collected from history. They have distinguished them- 
selves by their courage, both singly and unitedly, as prin- 
cipals and auxiliaries. They have conquered for their 
own princes and for foreigners, and have always been con- 
sidered the main strength of the army in which they have 
served *." 

I have stated, that the restoration of Judah will com- 
mence at the close of the 1260 years, and have intimated 
it to be probable that it will not be completely effected 
till a period of 30 additional years shall likewise have ex- 

* Besides these Mohammedan Israelites, if indeed the Afghans be Israel- 
ites, it appears, that there are in the East many of the same ancient stock of 
Jacob. ■« There is reason to believe," says Mr. Buchanan, "that scriptural 
records, older than the apostolical, exist on the coast of Malabar. At Cochin 
there is a .colony of Jews, who retain the tradition that they arrived in India 
soon after the Babylonian captivity. There are in that province two classes 
of Jews, the white and the black Jews. The black Jews are those, who are 
supposed to have arrived at that early period. The white Jews emigrated 
from Europe in later ages. What seems to countenance the tradition of the 
black Jews is, that they have copies of those books of the Old Testament 
which were written previously to the captivity, but none of those whose 
dates are subsequent to that event — The latest information respecting them 
is contained in a letter lately received from a learned missionary in the south 
of the peninsula, who had resided for some time in the vicinity of Cochin. 
He states, that he had constantly been informed that the Jews at Cochin had 
those books only of the Old Testament which were written before the Baby- 
lonian captivity ; and that thence it is generally believed by the Christians of 
the Decan, that they had come to India soon after that event. He adds, that 
the M.S. was on a material resembling paper, in the form of a roll ; and that 
the character had a strong resemblance to Hebrew, if not Hebrew." (Me- 
moir of an eccles. establishment for British India, p. 117, 118.) Are we to 
esteem these people Jews, or a remnant of the ten tribe 9 I 



38 

pifed. This conjecture is founded upon a remarkable 
chronological passage in the book of Daniel. The pro- 
phet teaches us, that 75 years will intervene between the 
expiration of the 1260 years and the commencement of the 
millennium : and these 75 years he divides, without spe- 
cifying any reason for such a division, into 30 years and 
45 years. What particular event will happen at the era 
of the division, we undoubtedly cannot determine with 
any degree of certainty ; because Daniel has left it whol- 
ly undetermined : but we must conclude, that the point of 
the division will be marked by some signal event ; other- 
wise how can we rationally account for such a division 
having been made ? Now, when we find, by comparing 
prophecy with prophecy, that the restoration ofJudah will 
precede the restoration of Israel, and that the restoration 
of Israel will not even so much as commence till the res- 
toration of at least the main body ofJudah * is completed, 
and till the power of Antichrist is broken : it is at least 
highly probable, that the 30 years will be occupied in the 
conversion and restoration of Judah, in the great eartli- 
quake or political convulsion that divides the Latin em- 
pire into three parts, in the wars of Antichrist with the 
kings of the north and the south, in his grand expedition 
against Palestine and Egypt, and in the contemporary 
naval expedition of the maritime power undertaken for the 
purpose of bringing back the converted Jews ; that the 
30 years will close with the complete overthrow of Anti- 
christ in the valley of Megiddo, an event than which we 
cannot conceive one better calculated to mark a signal 
chronological epoch; and that the 45 years will be em- 
ployed in the wanderings of those who, escaping from the 
rout of the Antichristian army, will carry every where the 
tidings of God's supernatural interference, and in the 
subsequent conversion and restoration of the whole house 
of Israel I wish this to be understood only as conjee - 

* It appears from the mention of some countries, into which (according- to 
Isaiah) the fugitives from the AnticJiristian army will wander, that several 
scattered yews will be left behind in Europe both by the maritime potver and 
by Antichrist. These will be converted and hasten to join their brethren, both 
in consequence of the report of the fugitives, and of their beholding- from 
afar the glory of the Lord manifested over Jerusalem in the awful sign of the 
Shechinah. See Isaiah lxvi. 18, 19. 



39 

ture ; for it would be folly to speak positively before the 
event. 

When the 45 years shall have expired, when the whole 
family of Jacob shall have been converted and restored, 
and when the stick of Judah shall have united itself for 
ever with the stick of Joseph ; then will commence the 
season of millennian blessedness *. We have reason to 
suppose, that the ancient people of God, now converted to 
the faith of Christ, will be greatly instrumental in spread- 
ing the glad tidings of the Gospel among the heathen 
nations, already prepared to receive it by so many super- 
natural interpositions of Providence, and by beholding 
with their own eyes the glory of the Lord permanently 
manifested over Jerusalem. According to the united tes- 
timony of many of the prophets, Israel, after his restora- 

* What Mr. Mede has said upon the subject of these numbers is to me 
altogether unsatisfactory. He dates them from the profanation of the temple 
iji Antiochus Epiphanes, thus making- the first number terminate about a. d. 
1120, and the second about a. d. 1166 ; and he refers them altogether to the 
suspicions, which then began to be entertained by many, that the Pope was 
Antichrist (See Mede's Works, B. in P. 717 — 724.) But what great bless- 
edness was there in living about the year 1166 ? Mr. Mede answers, that 
then the Waldenses began to be persecuted, and the promise to be fulfilled 
that " blessed are the dead which die in the Lord." Such an answer, 1 must 
confess, appears to me little better than a quibble. In fact, it can only be by 
a very strained construction that we can make these numbers relate to the 
times when the wise first began to understand. According to the general 
context of the whole passage, they obviously extend beyond the 1260 years, 
and reach to the very end of the days, to the commencement of some period of 
great blessedness. Bp. Newton, much more judiciously than Mr. Mede whom 
lie scruples not to pronounce mistaken, connects these numbers with the 
1260 years, making their overplus reach beyond them. At the close of the 
1290 years, if I mistake not, he places the complete restoration of the JFqas, and 
.the destruction of Antichrist : at the close of the 1335 rears, the full conversion 
if the Gentiles, and the beginning of the Millennium. See Dissert, xvn. to- 
wards the end. Mr. Wintle, like myself, inclines to prefer Bp. Newton's 
opinion to that of Mr. Mede. See Note on Dan xii. 11. See also Mr Lowth ii\ 
loc. Mr. Fleming's opinion, though it differs from that of Mr. Mede in com- 
puting the number 1290 from the final desolation of Jerusalem in the year 135, 
and the number 1335 from the end of the number 1290, appears to me to be 
equally objectionable ; or, 1 should rather say, much more objectionable, be- 
cause it is founded upon an absolute error. By the accomplishing of the scat- 
tering of the holy people (Dan. xii. 7.) he understands the commencement of their 
complete scattering by Adrian in the year 135 ; whereas the expression means 
the very reverse, namely the termination of their scattering or the beginning of 
their restoration In this sense accordingly it is understood both by Med©, 
Newton, Lowth, and Wintle. Our common English translation indeed em- 
ploys two different words, accomplish and finish ,- but the self-same word m 
the original is used in both places, and in both alike ought to have been ren- 
dered by finish : — "when he shall have finished to scatter the power of the 
holy people, all these wonders shall be finished." Fleming's Apoc Kc\ , 
p. 74. 



40 

tion, will be sown among the Gentiles ; and will thus be 
made, in a wonderful manner, from first to last, the seed 
of the Church. This preaching of the Gospel by the con- 
verted Israelites , unlike the preaching of it by that first 
handful only of seed, the Hebrew Apostles of our Lord, 
will, I apprehend, be totally, unattended by persecution 
or opposition : for all trials of that nature would be in- 
compatible with the predicted peace and blessedness of 
the millennian church. God will incline the hearts of the 
Gentiles to receive the word gladly. Great shall be the 
day of JezraeL For, if the fall of the Jews be the riches s 
of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of 
the Gentiles ; how much more their fulness ? Nay, in- 
stead of opposing or slighting the truth, so eager shall the 
heathens be to receive it, that out of all the languages of 
the nations ten men shall lay hold of the skirt of only one 
Jexv, declaring, with a holy vehemence, their full deter- 
mination to go with him, inasmuch as they have heard 
that God is with him of a truth. In short, the whole 
World shall press eagerly to Jerusalem to behold the glo- 
ry of the Lord, and to receive instruction from the lips 
of his servants. All nations shall flow like a mighty tor- 
rent to his holy mountain, assured that he will teach them 
of his ways, and cause them to walk in his paths ; that 
the law shall go forth out of Zion, and the word of the 
Lord from Jerusalem. Wars and tumults shall be no 
more ; and the whole earth will form, as it were, only one 
great family of faithful worshippers. 

It is not impossible, that some may feel a curiosity to 
know what nation is intended by the great maritime power 
destined to take so conspicuous a part in the restoration of 
Judah. On this point their curiosity cannot be gratified; 
at least, not with any degree of precision. Bp. Horsley 
has studiously, as it were, enlarged the circle, within 
which the power in question is to be sought for. " Its 
situation," says he, " is not otherwise described in the 
prophecy which peculiarly sets forth its office and actions*, 
than by this circumstance ; that it is beyond the rivers of 
Cush. That is, far to the west of Judea, if these rivers of 

* Isaiah xviii. 



41 

Cush are to be understood, as they have been generally 
understood, of the Nile and other Ethiopian rivers ; far to 
the east, if of the Tigris and Euphrates. The one, or the 
other, they must denote ; but which, is uncertain : — inso- 
much that we know not, in what quarter of the world to 
look for the country intended, whether in the East Indies, 
or in the western parts of Africa or Europe, or in Ame- 
rica*." What his Lordship says on the subject is per- 
fectly just : and, were there no other prophecies that 
treated of the restoration of Judah except that which par- 
ticularly describes the maritime power, we undoubtedly 
could not even approximate to any certainty respecting 
its precise situation. But there are other parallel predic- 
tions, which, although they do not authorize us to say 
that this state or that state is the maritime power intended 
by Isaiah, seem nevertheless to give us some warrant very 
considerably to contract at least the circle within which 
it is to be sought. The isles of the Gentiles, and the si hips 
ofTarshish, are represented as bringing the sons of Judah 
from afar unto the name of the Lord their God \ : and 
the returning Jews themselves are exhorted, while they 
cry aloud from the sea or (as the original word may with 
equal propriety be translated) the west, to glorify God in 
the isles of the sea, that is, the isles of the west j. Now 
it is well known, that the Jews were accustomed to call 
the whole maritime region of Europe by the general name 
of the isles of the Gentiles or the isles of the sea ; because 
the Phenicians were unable to reach any part of that re- 
gion, except by the means of shipping \. And it is fur- 
ther known, that perhaps the greatest part of the Jexvs, 
properly so called, is scattered through the different na- 
tions of Europe. These isles of the Gentiles then are des- 
tined to the office of bringing back the Jexvs : but some 
one nation among them, described as the Tyre of the day, 
and whose ships are mystically styled the ships of Tarsh- 
ish, is plainly to take the lead in bringing back at least 
the converted Jews. Thus is the circle at once narrowed, 
from the east and the west in general, to a particular part 

* Bishop Horsley's Letter on Isaiah xviii. p. 90, 91. See also P. 37— -41 . 
t Isaiah lx. 8—11. * Isaiah xxiv. 14, 15. 

§ See Mede's Works, B. i. P. 272, 273. 

6 



42 

only of the west ; namely, the maritime region of Europe? 
and some mighty naval power -which will then occupy 
the same place in the modern world that Tyre did in the 
ancient world. But the isles of the Gentiles, and the ships 
of Tarshish, are clearly described by Isaiah as restoring 
the Jexvs in a converted state, and as undertaking that of- 
fice upon religious motives : and he represents/ with equal 
plainness, both the great maritime power, and the Jews 
under its protection, as being faithful and acceptable wor- 
shippers of the Lord in purity and truth. Yet we know, 
that at this very period, the mighty confederacy of Anti- 
christ, which (we have reason to believe both from pro- 
phecy and from the passing events of the day) will at 
least comprehend the whole of the papal Roman empire, 
will commence its expedition against Palestine, in direct 
opposition, though perhaps not avowed opposition, to the 
purposes of the Most High. Here then, at the epoch of 
the restoration of Judah, we have the isles of the Gentiles 
divided into two parts : the one papal, and subject to the 
tyrannical domination of Antichrist ; the other protestant, 
and under the influence of the maritime power described 
as the ships of Tarshish. Those isles of the Gentiles 
therefore, and the ships of Tarshish, which restore the 
Jexvs in a converted state, and in order to glorify the name 
of the Lord their God, certainly cannot be that part of 
Europe which is subjugated by Antichrist : because their 
views and principles are directly opposite to the views 
and principles of Antichrist. Hence it will follow, that 
the maritime power must not only be sought for general- 
ly in the isles of the Gentiles or in Europe, but particu- 
larly in the believing isles of the Gentiles or in protestant 
Europe. Further than this we have no authority .to ad- 
vance, and therefore I shall not advance further : but I 
shall content myself with resting in the conclusion, that 
the maritime power will be that state of protestant Europe 
which shall possess a decided naval superiority at the time 
when the 1260 years shall expire. This mighty maritime 
power, and other smaller maritime protestant powers its 
allies, described by the prophet under the general name 
of the isles of the Gentiles, will undoubtedly be the agents 
in converting and restoring those Jews who are not under 
the influence of Antichrist. 



43 

Such is all the positive knowledge, that we can now 
attain to, respecting the great naval power, which will 
act so conspicuous a part at the time of ihe end. -Every 
person, who attends to the subject, will doubtless have 
his own private conjectures : but he is not, I think, 
warranted in making his conjectures public ; because he 
cannot have those clear grounds to go upon, which almost 
indisputably attach to France the character of Daniel's 
infidel kingdom, and more recently the additional charac- 
ter of the Carlovingian head of the Roman beast, that is to 
contrive and direct the Antichristian expedition against 
Palestine at the time of the end. We are at present very 
manifestly living in the last days of blasphemous atheism 
and infidelity ; and there is every reason to think, that we 
cannot be very far distant from the close of the 1260 years, 
from whatever precise period they ought to be dated. 
Now we learn from concurring prophecies, that, at the 
close of those years or at the time of the end, four mighty 
powers will be the principal actors in the great drama of 
nations : the Roman beast under his last or Carlovingian 
head, a head which we can now scarcely avoid considering 
as identified with the infidel kingdom, although the governor 
of that kingdom has not yet formally assumed the title of 
Roman emperor; some great protest ant maritime and 
commercial state ; a king of the north ; and a king of the 
south. If then, what can scarcely be doubted, we be now 
rapidly approaching to that time of the end, when all these 
four pozvers will be in action ; we may naturally expect 
to behold some at least of the powers already in existence. 
Accordingly, upon turning from prophecy to the present 
state of things in Europe, we see a kingdom, which ex- 
actly and in ail points answers to the character of Dani- 
el's infidel kingdom, transferring from Germany to itself 
the ancient imperial honours of the Carlovingian head, 
and rapidly establishing a sort of federal empire, which 
no less exactly answers to the character of the apocalyptic 
confederacy of the Roman beast under his last head, the 
false prophet, and the kings of the Latin earth*. We 

* See Rev. xvi. 13—16. and xix. IT— 21. The confederacy will not begin to 
"be gathered to the buttle of* the great day of God Almighty, till alter the 
overthrow of the Ottoman empire ,- but it will plainly be either 'formed or form- 



44 

moreover see a mighty protestant maritime power, arriv- 
ing with rapid strides at the most complete naval superi- 
ority that ever was possessed by any modern nation ; and, 
having singularly availed itself of the suggestion of one 
whose whole life has been spent upon land*, no longer 
as formerly either lighting its enemies on equal terms or 
gaining over them indecisive victories, but annihilating 
whole fleets at a blow, esteeming what would once have 
been deemed a victory as worthy only of censure f, and 
triumphing over all its opponents in all quarters of the 
globe. We further see a vast northern sovereignty, the 
chief of which may well be called by way of eminence 
the king of the north, extending itself on every side, and 
rising in the inconceivably short space of little more than 
a century from barbarous insignificance to immense pow- 
er and influence . As yet we behold indeed no state, 
which, consistently with the general tenor of prophecy, 
we can even guess to be the kingdom of the south : of this 
however we may rest assured, that at the close of the 
1260 years, some kingdom of the south will unite its arms 
with the kingdom of the north in opposing the progress of 
Antichrist ; and that they will both fail in their attempt. 
Yet, although they will fail, no intimation is given that 
they will be totally destroyed by that tyrant : whence we 
may perhaps venture to conclude, that they will be rather 
baffled than s ubj u gated % 

tng, about or before that event takes place. The three demons are not repre- 
sented as gathering or forming the confederacy itself; but only as gathering 
it, when formed, to the battle of the Lord. 

* John Clark, Esq. This gentleman, who, so far from being bred to the 
sea, had not even performed a single voyage, first suggested the present sys- 
tem of naval tactics, the prominent feature of which is to break the enemy's 
line of battle. A long series of indecisive actions excited the attention of the 
inquisitive mind of Mr. Clark. He became the inventor of an entirely new 
system, which was first acted upon by Lord Rodney. Since that time no en- 
gagement has proved indecisive : but each succeeding victory has surpassed 
its predecessor in completeness and in importance. Does not such a man 
deserve public honours from his countrv ? 

f On the 22d of July 1805, Sir Robert Calder, with 15 sail of the line and 
two frigates, fought the combined squadrons of France and Spain, consisting 
of 20 sail of the line, three ships of 50 guns, and five frigates. Without losing 
a single ship of his own fleet, he took from the enemy two sail of the line. 
He returned home ; was tried by a court martial ; and was severely repri- 
manded for having done nothing more. 

* So far indeed from the northern kingdom being subjugated, we have some 
reason from prophecy to believe, that it will be a tremendous instrument in 



45 

Is then England the great maritime power, to which the 
high office of converting and restoring a large part of his 
ancient people is reserved by the Almighty ? To this ques- 
tion, I am compelled to say, that we have no right posi- 
tively to answer in the affirmative. England may, or 
may not. The thing is certainly not improbable in 
itself; and I will even add, that the present aspect of 
affairs by no means contradicts the conjecture, that our. 
hitherto highly favoured country may be the protestant 
European naval power intended by Isaiah : yet I must 
likewise add, that such an opinion, should it be enter- 
tained by any, can be considered in no other light than 
that of a mere conjecture ; a conjecture authorized indeed, 
as some may imagine, by existing circumstances and by 
the high probability that we are not far removed from the 
time of the end, but a conjecture, totally unauthorized by 
the prophet himself. This however I may safely say, that, 
the more true piety increases among us, the more likely- 
will it be that England is the great maritime power in 
question. At the present awful period, when the judg- 
ments of the Lord are so manifestly abroad in the earth, 
the accession even of every individual to the cause of 
vital religion and Christian holiness renders us more 
strong and more secure ; and increases the probability 
that the maritime poxver may be England, because it 
makes us more fit for the task (a task meet only for the 
sincerely pious) of converting and restoring the lost sheep 
of the house of Judah* A wicked nation can be expect- 
ed to furnish no very suitable missionaries. So great a 
labour of love will require proportionable purity of heart 
and conversation, and proportionable devotedness to the 
service of God. If iniquity therefore increase, and right- 
eousness decrease, among us ; I may say, without pre- 
tending to the spirit of prophecy, that we certainly cannot 
be that naval power, which the Lord will delight to ho- 
nour by delegating to it the venerable office of carrying 
the Gospel to his ancient people. 

the hand of God to scourge the guilty inhabitants of the papal Roman empire. 
The irruption of the northern power into the south-western regions of Europe 
will most probably take place, unless I be mistaken in supposing such an 
irruption to be predicted, during the absence of Antichrist in Palestine and 
Egypt. More will be said on this subject hereafter. 



46 

It will be proper for me now to make a few remarks 
on the mode of exposition, which will be adopted 
throughout the following pages. 

Between chronological prophecies and unchronological 
prophecies there is a striking difference, which ought 
always to be kept in mind. A chronological prophecy, 
that is to say, a prophecy consisting of a series of pre- 
dictions which succeed each other in regular chronologi- 
cal order like those of Daniel and St. John, is incapable 
from its very nature of receiving a two-fold accomplish- 
ment ; because every link of such a prophecy is exclu- 
sively confined to a particular period of history by the 
links which both precede it and follow it, and therefore 
can only be applied to a single event. In short, a chain 
of chronological predictions is simply an anticipated his- 
tory : and each link is just as incapable, and that for the 
very same reason, of a double completion, as each fact 
recorded in history is of a double meaning *. But an 
unchronological prophecy, that is to say, a prophecy which 
only predicts certain future events without specifying the 
precise time when those events will come to pass and 
without so connecting them with any preceding series as 
to compel us to assign them to some one particular era ex- 
clusively, is not restricted in the same manner that a chro- 
nological prophecy must necessarily be. Instead of being 
incapable of a double accomplishment, we perpetually find 
predictions of this nature evidently constructed with the 
express design of receiving a double accomplishment. 
They are first fulfilled in an incohoate manner, and after- 
wards will be fulfilled more amply at a period to which they 
ultimately and principally refer. This is remarkably the 
case with prophecies, which treat of the restoration of the 
Jews, and the advent of the Messiah: insomuch that I be^ 
lieve Bp. Horsley not to have been guilty of the least exag^ 
geration, in asserting, " that a far greater proportion of the 
prophecies, even of the Old Testament, than is generally 
imagined, relate to the second advent of our Lord ; that few 
comparatively relate to the first advent by itself, without 
reference to the second ; and that of those, that have been 

I * See this point discussed in the preface to my Dissert, on the 1260 years. 



47 

supposed to be accomplished in the first, many had in 
that only an inchoate accomplishment, and have yet to 
receive their full completion *." Such a mode of fore- 
telling future events seems to have arisen from, or per- 
haps rather to be a part of the grand scriptural system of 
types and antitypes. The first advent is a type of the 
second advent : hence they are both styled the great day 
of the Lord ; and hence they are frequently predicted con- 
jointly, certain matters which received their full accom- 
plishment at the first advent being inserted (parentheti- 
ca, yas it were) in a prophecy which strictly and principally 
relates to the second advent. In a similar manner, the Ba- 
bylonian captivity of the Jews is a type of their subsequent 
dispersion by the Romans ; hence many of those predic- 
tions, which from the elevation of their style and from 
other circumstances connected with them must ultimately 
and indeed chiefly be referred to the yet future restoration 
of the Jews, probably received a sort of inchoate accom- 
plishment in their return from Babylon f. Some however 
there are, which must be exclusively applied to the return 
from Babylon; because they are connected with a specific 
number of years, and therefore become chronological pro- 
phecies incapable of any further completion J. And 

* Letter on Isaiah xviii. p. 3. 

f " It has been concladed by judicious divines," says Archdeacon Wood- 
house, "that those partial prophecies and particular instances of the divine 
vengeance, whose accomplishment we know to have taken place, are pre- 
sented to us as types, certain tokens and forerunners, of some greater events 
which are also disclosed in them. To the dreadful time of universal ven- 
geance they all appear to look forward, beyond their first and more immedi- 
ate object. Little indeed can we doubt that such is to be considered the 
use and application of these prophecies, since we see them thus applied by 
our Lord and his apostles. See Malt. i. 22, 23. xxvii.9. — John xv. 25. xix. 30, 
37.— Acts ii. 20, 27. iii. 19, 22, 24.— Heb. iv. 7, 8. x. 27, 37.— Rom. ii. 5. Gal. 
iv. 24.— Eph. v. 14.— 2 Thess. ii. 3, &c— 2 Pet. iii. 2—14 ; where the prophe- 
cies of the Old Testament are applied in a more extended and spiritual sense, 
than in their first and primary designation." Apocalypse translated, p. 172, 
173. 

For observations on the double sense of divine prophecy, the Archdeacon 
refers us to Bp. Lowth. Pradeet. xi. and note on Isaiah xl ; Mr. Lowth on 
Isaiah vii. 15 ; Jortin's remarks on Eccles. Hist. p. 188—228 ; Serin, v. 1, 124; 
Sir Isaac Newton on prophecy, p. 251 ; Bp Kurd's sermons on prophecy, 
ill. iv. v ; Bp. Sherlock on prophecy, Disc, ii ; Bp. Warburton's Divine Le- 
gation, Book vi. 8 ; Bp. Horn's Preface to the Psalms ; Jones on the hgura 
tive language of Scripture, Lect. viu ; and Archdeacon Nares's sermon «u». 
the Warburtonian lecture, 1805. 

e Jerem. xxv. 11. 12. xxix. 10. Dan. ix. 2. 



48 

others again there are, and these constitute by far the 
greatest proportion, which must be exclusively applied to 
the yet future restoration of Israel ; because they are 
connected with such circumstances as prevent the possi- 
bility of any other application. 

This typical mode of foretelling future events very ma- 
terially affects the phraseology of prophecy. At the era 
of the restoration of Judah, some great confederacy of 
God's enemies will be destroyed. Such is the general 
voice of prophecy ; while Daniel and St. John not only 
teach us that a confederacy of that nature will be destroy- 
ed, but intimate very unequivocally of what persons it 
will be composed. At least, recent events have rendered 
their predictions, relative to this confederacy, far less equi- 
vocal and difficult to be understood, than they once ne- 
cessarily were ; and I doubt not, that every day will throw 
an increasing light upon them. The confederacy in ques- 
tion is by the other prophets variously pointed out under 
the mystic names of various ancient enemies and oppres- 
sors of the house of Israel. Sometimes, as in the parallel 
language of the Apocalypse, it is styled Babylon, some- 
times Nineveh, sometimes Tyre, but most frequently 
Edom *. In prophecies of this nature, it is obvious, 
that, where Babylon occurs, the destruction of the li- 
teral Babylon at the era of the first restoration of the 
Jews is primarily intended : but the same remark cannot 
be applied to the other types of the Anti christian confede- 
racy. Neither Nineveh, nor Tyre, nor Edom, were over- 
thrown at the era of the first restoration ; and yet, since 
they have all long since been overthrown, it is manifest, 
that none of them can literally experience the vengeance 
of heaven at the yet future era of the second restoration. 
Nevertheless it is repeatedly declared, that they shall ex- 
perience the vengeance of heaven at that very period: 
hence it is plain, that some mystical Nineveh, Tyre, and 
Edom, can only be intended. Such accordingly, as wq 

* It is excellently observed by Bp. Lowth, that, " by a figure very common 
in the prophetical writings, any city or people, remarkably distinguished as ene- 
mies of the people and kingdom of God, is put for those enemies in general. This 
seems to be the case with Edom and Bozrah." Translat. of Isaiah. Notes 
on Chap, xxxiv. xxxv. See also his Prseleot. Poet. P. 274. 



49 



shall find in the sequel, at least in the case of Edom, is 
the interpretation given by the Jews themselves. With 
one consent their Rabbies declare, that Edom, when so 
described, can only mean the fourth beast of Daniel, or 
the Roman empire: and we, who are Christians, can add, 
on the authority of St. John, that it must mean the Ro- 
man empire in its very last state ; that is to say, the Roman 
empire when organized into the grand confederacy of An- 
tichrist, now become the last head of the beast. The close 
connection of the overthrow of Nineveh, Tyre, and Edom, 
with the restoration of the Jews will sufficiently guard a 
commentator from the illusions of fancy. This single 
circumstance will be enough to teach liim, whether in 
any particular prophecy he ought to understand those 
powers only literally, or whether he is warranted in look- 
ing beyond their literal to their mystical import. 



50 



PROPHECY L 

The dispersion of the Israelites — Their idolatry in their disper- 
sion — Their future restoration. 

Deuteronomy iv. 27. The Lord shall scatter you 
among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number 
among the peoples, whither the Lord shall lead you. 
28. And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's 
hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor 
eat, nor smell. 

29. But, if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy 
God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy 
heart and with all thy soul. 30. When thou art in tri- 
bulation, and all these things are come upon thee, in the 
end of the days if thou wilt turn unto the Lord thy God 
and wilt be obedient unto his voice, 31. (For the Lord- 
thy God is a merciful God) he will not forsake thee, neither 
destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which 
he sware unto them. 

COMMENTARY. 

At the time when this prophecy was delivered, the 
children of Israel were on the point of taking possession 
of the promised land ; and, humanly speaking, nothing 
was less likely than that any such calamity, as Moses 
here predicts, should befall them. Yet, agreeably to his 
declaration, the ten tribes were first led away captive into 
Assyria, and have ever since been given up to the delu- 
sion of worshipping strange gods. Afterwards the two 
tribes were carried from their own country to Babylon. 
And at length the same two tribes were yet more effectu- 
ally dispersed by the Romans ; and are, at the present 
day, wanderers over the face of the whole earth. In the 
course of this their last captivity, they have been repeat- 
edly compelled, as if that the prophecy might be com- 
pletely fulfilled, to bow down before the idols of Popery, 
and to abjure their own religion *. 

* See Bp. Newton's Dissert vu. 



51 

Nevertheless, although they be apparently forsaken, 
God still hath his eye upon them. As they were of old 
brought back from Babylon ; so will they, in due season 
be converted from their long apostasy, and be gathered 
together out of all nations. Nor will Judah alone be 
restored : Israel likewise shall seek the Lord his God, 
and be obedient unto his voice. Then shall the two rival 
kingdoms be for ever united together, so as to form only 
one people : for God hath declared, that he will not utter- 
ly destroy them, nor ever forget the covenant which he 
s ware unto their fathers. 



PROPHECY II. 

The calamities of the siege of Jerusalem — The various circum- 
stances attending the dispersion of the Jews — Their final con- 
version and restoration. 

Deuteronomy xxviii. 15. It shall come to pass, if 
thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy 
God, to observe to do all his commandments and his 
statutes which I command thee this day ; that all these 
curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee — 46. And 
they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and 
upon thy seed for ever. 47. Because thou servedst not 
the Lord thy God with j oyfulness and with gladness of 
heart, for the abundance of all things ; 48. Therefore 
shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send 
against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, 
and in want of all things : and he shall put a yoke of iron 
upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. 49. The 
Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the 
end of the earth, as the eagle fliethT a nation, whose 
tongue thou shalt not understand ; 50. A nation of fierce 
countenance, which shall not regard the person of the 
old, nor shew favour to the young : 51. And he shall eat 
the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou 
be destroyed : which also shall not leave thee either corn, 
wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy 
sheep, until he have destroyed thee : 52. And he shall 



52 

besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced 
walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all 
thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates 
throughout all thy land which the Lord thy God hath 
given thee. 53. And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine 
own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters 
which the Lord thy God hath given thee, in the siege 
and in the straitness wherewith thine enemies shall dis- 
tress thee- — 56. The tender and delicate woman among 
you, — her eye shall be evil — 57 — toward her young one 
that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her 
children which she shall bear : for she shall eat them for 
Want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness 
wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates. 

58. If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this 
law that are written in this book, that thou may est fear 
this glorious and fearful name, The Lord thy God ; 

59. Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and 
the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long 
continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continu- 
ance. — 63. And it shall come to pass, that, as the Lord 
rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you ; 
so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to 
bring you to nought : and ye shall be plucked from the 
land, whither thou goest to possess it. 64. And the 
Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one 
end of the earth even to the other ; and there thou shalt 
serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have 
known, even wood and stone. 65. And among these 
nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of 
thy foot have rest : but the Lord shall give thee there a 
trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind : 
66. And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee : and 
thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assur- 
ance of thy life : — 37. And thou shalt become an aston- 
ishment, a proverb, and a by-word, among all nations 
whither the Lord shall lead thee — xxix. 22. So that the 
generation to come of your children that shall rise up 
after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far 
land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, 
and the sicknesses which the Lord hath laid upon it ; 



53 

23. And that the whole land thereof is brimstone and 
salt and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any 
grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and 
Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, which the Lord over- 
threw in his anger and in his wrath : 24. Even all nations 
shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto 
this land ? what meaneth the heat of this great anger ? 
25. Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken 
the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which 
he made with them when he brought them forth out the 
land of Egypt : 26. For they went, and served other 
gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, 
and whom he had not given unto them : 27. And the 
anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring 
upon it all the curses that are written in this book : 
28. And the Lord rooted them out of their land in anger 
and in wrath and in great indignation, and cast them into 
another land, as it is this day. 

29. The secret things belong unto the Lord our God ; 
but those things, which are revealed, belong unto us and 
unto our children for ever, that we may do all the words 
of this law. 

xxx. 1. And it shall come to pass, when all these 
things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse 
which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to 
mind among all the nations whither the Lord thy God 
hath driven thee, 2. And shalt return unto the Lord thy 
God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I com- 
mand thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine 
heart and with all thy soul ; 3. That then the Lord thy 
God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon 
thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations 
whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. 4. If any 
of thine be driven out unto the utmost parts of heaven, 
from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from 
thence will he fetch thee : 5. And the Lord thy God will 
bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and 
thou shalt possess it : and he will do thee good, and mul- 
tiply thee above thy fathers. 6. And the* Lord thy God 
will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to 



54 

love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all 
thy soul, that thou mayest live. 

7. And the Lord thy God will put all these curses up- 
on thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which 
persecuted thee. 

8. And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the 
Lord, and do all his commandments which I command 
thee this day. 9. And the Lord thy God will make thee 
plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy 
body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy 
land, for good : for the Lord will again rejoice over thee 
for good, as he rejoiced over thy Fathers : 10. If thou 
wilt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God to keep 
his commandments and his statutes which are written 
in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord 
thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul. 

COMMENTARY. 

This famous prophecy of Moses has been so fully 
and so well discussed by Bp. Newton*, that it is almost 
superfluous for me to offer any observations upon ; yet a 
work like the present would certainly have been incom- 
plete if I had omitted it. 

After describing, as it were with the pen of an histo- 
rian, the various calamities which have since befallen the 
Jews ; the capture of their city by the Romans, a nation 
whose language was totally different both from their own 
and from the collateral oriental dialects ; the circumstance 
of the noble woman being reduced to eat the flesh of her 
own child ; the dispersion of the Jews throughout all na- 
tions ; their becoming a proverb and a by- word; the com- 
parative sterility, to which their once fruitful land is now 
reduced ; the notice taken of that sterility by travellers, 
and their comments upon it ; the long continuance of these 
calamities : in short, after delineating with wonderful mi- 
nuteness and accuracy the future miseries of the Jews 9 
even before they had taken possession of the land to which 
the Lord was then miraculously conducting them, Moses 
suddenly reverses the scene, and predicts their restoration 

* Dissert, vu. vni. 



55 

and conversion. He declares, that, when in the countries 
of their dispersion they shall call to mind the things which 
have befallen them, and shall understand the true grounds 
of those curses which have so long pursued them, then 
the Lord will turn their captivity, and gather them out of 
all the nations whither he had scattered them ; that he will 
bring them back into the land of their fathers ; that he will 
restore to it its former fertility ; that he will spiritually 
circumcise their hearts ; and that he will cause both them 
and their children to love the Lord their God with all 
their heart and with all their soul. Nor does he only pre- 
dict the restoration and prosperity of Israel. He inti- 
mates, that, at the same period, God will put all the cur- 
ses, which he had once poured upon the Jews, upon the 
head of their enemies, and upon the head of those that 
hated and persecuted them. From other parallel prophe- 
cies, which treat more largely of the judgments of the 
Lord at the era of the restoration of the Jews, we cannot 
doubt that this is an allusion to the overthrow of Anti- 
christ and his confederacy. 

It is deeply interesting to view, in connection with the 
present prediction, the sentiments of the Jews themselves. 
" Soon after the establishment of Christianity," says one 
of their writers, " the Jewish nation, dispersed since the 
second destruction of its temple, had totally disappeared. 
By the light of the flames which devoured the monu- 
ments of its ancient splendour, the eonquerors beheld a 
million of victims dead or expiring on their ruins. The 
hatred of the enemies of that unfortunate nation raged 
longer than the fire which had consumed its temple ; ac- 
tive and relentless, it still pursues and oppresses them in. 
every part of the globe over which they are scattered. 
Their persecutors delight in their torments too much to 
seal their doom by a general decree of proscription, which 
would at once put an end to their burthensome and pain- 
ful existence. It seems as if they were allowed to sur- 
vive the destruction of their country, only to see the most 
odious and calumnious imputations laid to their charge, 
to stand as the constant object of the grossest and most 
shocking injustice, as a mark for the insulting finger of 
scorn, as a sport to the most inveterate hatred ; it seems 



56 

•as if their doom was incessantly to suit all the dark and 
bloody purposes, which can be suggested by human ma- 
lignity supported by ignorance and fanaticism. Weighed 
down by taxes, and forced to contribute more than Chris- 
tians for the support of society, they had hardly any of 
the rights which it gives. If a destructive scourge hap- 
pened to spread havock among the inhabitants of a coun- 
try, the Jews had poisoned the springs ; or those men, 
cursed by heaven, had, nevertheless, incensed it by their 
prayers against the nation which they were supposed to 
hate. Did sovereigns want pecuniary assistance to carry 
on their wars? The Jews were compelled to give up 
those riches in which they sought some consolation 
against the oppressing sense of their abject condition : as 
a reward for their sacrifices, they were expelled from the 
state which they had supported, and w T ere afterwards re- 
called to be stript again. Compelled to wear exteriorly 
the badges of their abject state, they were every where 
exposed to the insults of the vilest populace. When from 
his solitary retreat an enthusiastic hermit preached the 
crusades to the nations of Europe, and a part of its inha- 
bitants left their country to moisten with their blood the 
plains of Palestine, the knell of promiscuous massacre 
tolled before the alarm-bell of war. Millions of Jews 
were then murdered to glut the pious rage of the cru- 
saders. It was by tearing the entrails of their brethren 
that these warriors sought to deserve the protection of 
heaven. Skulls of men and bleeding hearts were offered 
as holocausts on the altars of that God who has no plea- 
sure even in the blood of the innocent lamb, and minis- 
ters of peace were thrown into a holy enthusiasm by these 
bloody sacrifices. It is thus, that Basil, Treves, Co- 
blentz, and Cologn, became human shambles. It is thus, 
that upwards of 400,000 victims of all ages and of both 
sexes lost their lives at Cesarea and Alexandria — And is 
it, after they have experienced such treatment, that they 
are reproached with their vices ? Is it, after being for 
eighteen centuries the sport of contempt, that they are 
reproached with being no longer alive to it ? Is it, after 
having so often glutted with their blood the thirst of their 
persecutors, that they are held out as enemies to other 



57 

nations ? Is it, when they have been bereft of all means 
to mollify the hearts of their tyrants, that indignation is 
roused, if now and then they cast a mournful look to- 
wards the ruins of their temple, towards their country, 
where formerly happiness crowned their peaceful days, 
free from the cares of ambition and of riches ? — 

" Since the light of philosophy began to dawn over Eu- 
rope, our enemies have ceased to satisfy their revenge 
with the sacrifice of our lives. Jews are no longer seen, 
who, generously refusing to bend under the yoke of in- 
tolerance, were led with solemn pomp to the fatal pile. 
But, although the times of these barbarous executions 
are past long ago, although the hearts of sovereigns are 
now strangers to this cruelty, yet slavery itself and pre- 
judices are still the same. By what crimes have we then 
deserved this furious intolerance ? What is our guilt ? 
Is it in that generous constancy which we have manifest- 
ed in defending the laws of our fathers ? But this con- 
stancy ought to have entitled us to the admiration of all 
nations, and it has only sharpened against us the daggers 
of persecution. Braving all kinds of torments, the pangs 
of death, the still more terrible pangs of life, we alone 
have withstood the impetuous torrent of time, sweep- 
ing indiscriminately in its course nations, religions, and 
countries. What is become of those celebrated empires, 
whose very name still excites our admiration by the ideas 
of splendid greatness attached to them, and whose power 
embraced the whole surface of the known globe ? They 
are only remembered as monuments of the vanity of hu- 
man greatness. Rome and Greece are no more ; their de- 
scendants, mixed with other nations, have lost even the 
traces of their origin ; while a population of a few millions 
of men, so often subjugated, stands the test of thirty re- 
volving centuries, and the fiery ordeal of fifteen centuries 
of persecution ! We still preserve laws, which were given 
to us in the first days of the world, in the infancy of na- 
ture ! The last followers of a religion which had embrac- 
ed the universe have disappeared these fifteen centuries, 
and our temples are still standing ! We alone have been 
spared by the indiscriminating hand of time, like a co- 
lumn left standing amidst the wreck of worlds and the 
8 



58 

ruins of nature. The history of this people connects pre- 
sent times with the first ages of the world, by the testi- 
mony which it bears of the existence of those early peri- 
ods : it begins at the cradle of mankind, and its remnants 
are likely to be preserved to the very day of universal 
destruction. All men, whatever may be their opinions 
and the party which they have adopted, whether they 
suppose that the will of God is to maintain the people 
which he has chosen ; whether they consider that con- 
stancy which characterises the Jews as a reprehensible 
obstinacy ; or if, lastly, they believe in a God, who, re- 
garding all religions with equal complacency, needs no 
other wonders to exemplify his greatness, but the inces- 
sant and magnificent display of the beauties of nature : 
all, if their minds are susceptible of appreciating virtue 
and tried firmness, will not refuse their just admiration 
to that unshaken constancy unparalleled in the annals of 
any nation*." 

How can we satisfactorily account for the wonderful 
preservation of the dispersed Jews, without admitting, 
what is so repeatedly inculcated in prophecy, that their 
concerns are under a Special superintendance of God's 
providence f f And for what purpose can we suppose 
them to be thus preserved distinct among the nations, ex- 
cept for that which is no less repeatedly declared in pro- 
phecy, their restoration and conversion ? Assuredly the 
time will arrive, when they shall be gathered out of all 
the countries of their dispersion, and brought to the sav- 
ing knowledge of the Gospel ; when Jews and Gentiles 
shall jointly form only one flock ; and when the hallowed 
name of Jesus the Messiah shall be great even to the very 
ends of the earth. 

* An appeal to the justice of kings and ?iations y cited in Transactions of the- 
Parisian Sanhedrim, p. 64. 

f The Jews themselves seem to be conscious of this truth. One of them 
observes., that his nation, "scattered by the storm of adversity over the face 
of the habitable globe, always unfortunate, always persecuted, always faith- 
fully adhering- to the religion of its ancestors in spite of tortures and of suf- 
ferings, affords, to this very day, a striking phenomenon incomprehensible to 
human reason." Transactions of the Parisian Sanhedrim, p. 165. 



59 



PROPHECY III. 

The millennian glory of Jerusalem — The rebuking of Antichrist. 

Isaiah ii. 1. The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz 
saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 

2. And it shall come to pass in the end of days, that 
the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in 
the top of the mountains, and shalt be exalted above the 
hills : and all nations shall flow unto it. 3. And many 
people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to 
the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of 
Jacob : and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk 
in his paths : for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and 
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4. And he shall 
judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people*. 
They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their 
spears into pruning- hooks : nation shall not lift up sword 
against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 
5. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the 
light of the Lord. 

COMMENTARY. 

The glories of the millennian kingdom of Christ, or the 
kingdom of the mountain -\, form the principal subject of 
this prophecy. In the end of days, or at the termination 
of the great period of 1260 days, the Jewish Church will 
begin to be restored to her right of primogeniture. She 
will join her younger sister, the Gentile Church ; and will 
unite with her in receiving Jesus as the Messiah. Jeru- 
salem will become a kind of spiritual metropolis of the 
fifth great monarchy, that of the Lamb : the glory of the 
Lord will be in the midst of her : and she will be acknow- 
ledged by all nations to be the joy of the whole earth. 

* And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people. ~\ u Both 
by the power of his word, which is compared to a two-edged sword in Scrip- 
ture ; and by the remarkable judgments which he will exercise upon those who 
are incorrigible. See Luke xix. 27. Rev. xix. 15. Psalm ex. 6." Mr. Lowth's 
Comment, in loc. 

t See Dan. ii. 35. 



60 

The return of the converted Jews will however be op- 
posed by the faction of Antichrist and his congregated 
vassals. These the Lord will rebuke in his anger ; and, 
after cutting off the irreclaimable part of the confederacy, 
will cause the rest to lay down their weapons of war, and 
to humble themselves before Messiah the king. 



PROPHECY IV. 

The judicial blindness of the Jews — Their preservation from entire 

destruction. 

Isaiah vi. 8. And I heard the voice of the Lord, say- 
ing, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us ? Then 
said I, Here am I ; send me. 9. And he said ; Go, and 
tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not ; and 
see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10. Make gross the 
heart of this people ; make their ears dull, and close up 
their eyes ; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with 
their ears, and understand with their heart, and be -con- 
verted, and I should heal them. 11. And I said, Lord, 
how long ? And he answered : Until the cities be laid 
waste, so that there be no inhabitant ; and the houses, so 
that there be no man ; and the land be utterly desolate ; 

12. And the Lord have removed men far away ; and 
there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. 

13. And, though there be a tenth part remaining in it, 
even this shall undergo a repeated destruction : yet, as 
the ilex, and the oak, though cut down, hath its stock 
remaining, so shall a holy seed be the stock of the nation. 

COMMENTARY. 

The remarkable judicial blindness of the Jews, with re- 
spect to the promised Messiah, is here very clearly pre- 
dicted : and, accordingly, the prophecy is so applied both 
by our Lord himself, and by his apostles St. John and 
St. Paul *. This blindness is to continue during the 

* Matt. xiii. 14. John xii. 40. Acts xxviii. 26. 



61 

whole time of the dispersion : and so accurately has the 
prediction been fulfilled, that now, at the end of seven- 
teen centuries from the sacking of Jerusalem by Titus, 
we still behold the Jews removed far away from the land 
of their fathers, and labouring under the same astonish- 
ing infatuation that prompted their ancestors to crucify 
the Lord of life. 

Yet, notwithstanding the general dispersion and ruin of 
the people, a tenth part was to remain in the land ; but 
even this scanty remnant was to undergo a repeated de- 
struction. Nevertheless the nation itself was to be pre- 
served in the midst of its calamities ; and, although fre- 
quently undergoing an almost total excision, was still to 
shoot forth again like young twigs from the stump of an 
oak that has been cut down. The passage, in which this 
part of the prediction is contained, " though somewhat 
obscure, and variously explained by various interpreters, 
yet, I think, has been made so clear by the accomplish- 
ment of the prophecy, that there remains little room to 
doubt of the sense of it. When Nebuchadnezzer had 
carried away the greater and better part of the people in- 
to captivity, there was yet a tenth remaining in the land, 
the poorer sort, left to be vine dressers and husbandmen 
under Gedaliah* ; and the dispersed Jews gathered them- 
selves together, and returned to himf : yet even these, 
fleeing into Egypt after the death of Gedaliah, contrary 
to the warning of God given by the prophet Jeremiah, 
miserably perished there. Again, in the subsequent and 
more remarkable completion of the prophecy in the de- 
struction of Jerusalem and the dissolution of the common- 
wealth by the Romans, when the Jews, after the loss of 
above a million of men, had increased from the scanty re- 
sidue that was left of them, and had become very nume- 
rous again in their country ; Hadrian, provoked by their 
rebellious behaviour, slew above half a million more of 
them, and a second time almost extirpated the nation. 
Yet, after these signal and almost universal destructions 
of that nation, and after so many other repeated exter- 
minations and massacres of them, in different times and 

* 2 Kings xxv. 12, 22. t Jer. xl. 12% 



62 

on various occasions since, we yet see, with astonish- 
ment, that the stock still remains, from which God, ac- 
cording to his promise frequently given by his prophets, 
will cause his people to shoot forth again and to flourish*." 



PROPHECY V. 

The birth of Christ — His second advent — The blessings of his mil- 
lennian kingdom — The restoration and conversion of Israel — The 
exhaustion of the mystic Euphrates and Nile — The overthrow of 
the Antichristian sovereign of the mystic Babylon in the land of 
Palestine. 

Isaiah xi. 1. And. there shall come forth a rod out of 
the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his 
roots : 2. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, 
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of 
counsel and might, the Spirit of Knowledge and of the 
fear of the Lord ; 3. And shall make him of quick un- 
derstanding in the fear of the Lord : and he shall not 
judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after 
the hearing of his ears : 4. But with righteousness shall 
he judge the poor, and with equity shall he work con- 
viction in the meek of the earth : and he shall smite the 
earth with the blast of his mouth, and with the breath of 
his lips he shall slay the wicked one. 5. And righteous- 
ness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the 
girdle of his reins. 6. The wolf also shall dwell with the 
lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid : and 
the calf, and the young lion, and the fading together ; 
and a little child shall lead them. 7. And the cow and 
the bear shall feed together ; their young ones shall lie 
down together ; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 
8. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the 
asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cock- 

• Bp. Lowth's Isaiah in loc. See also Mr. Lowth in loc. " We ought," says 
one of the orators in the Jewish Sanhedrim at Paris, " to return our thanks 
to Providence, who has not suffered that the aged tree should be torn up by 
Jhe roots, though it has often permitted that its branches should severely suf- 
fer," Trans, of Paris. Sanhed. p. 165. 



63 

atrice den. 9. They shall not hurt, nor destroy, in all 
my holy mountain ; for the earth shall be full of the know- 
ledge of the Lord, as the waters that cover the depths of 
the sea. 

10. And it shall come to pass in that day, the root of 
Jesse, which standeth for an ensign to the peoples, unto 
him shall the nations repair, and his resting-place shall be 
glorious. 11. And it shall come to pass in that day, that 
the Lord will again put forth his hand the second time, 
to recover the remnant of his people that remaineth, from 
Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from 
Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Ha- 
math, and from the isles of the west. 12. And he shall 
lift up a signal to the nations, and shall assemble the out- 
casts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah 
from the four corners of the earth. 13. And the jealousy 
of Ephraim shall cease ; and the enmity of Judah shall 
be no more : Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah ; and 
Judah shall not be at enmity with Ephraim. 14. But 
they shall invade the borders of the Philistines westward; 
together shall they spoil the children of the east : on Edom 
and Moab they shall lay their hand ; and the children of 
Ammon shall obey them. 15. And the Lord shall smite 
with a drought the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and he 
shall shake his hand over the river with his vehement 
wind : and he shall smite it into seven streams, and make 
men go over dry-shod. 16. And there shall be a high- 
way for the remnant of his people which shall be left from 
Assyria ; as it was to Israel in the day that he came up 
out of the land of Egypt. 

xii. 1. And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will 
praise thee, though thou wast angry with me, thine 
anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. 2. Be- 
hold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be 
afraid : for my strength, and my song, is Jehovah ; and 
he is become unto me salvation. 3. And, when ye shall 
draw waters with joy from the fountains of salvation ; 
4. In that day ye shall say, Praise the Lord, call upon 
his name, declare his doings among the people, make 
mention that his name is exalted. 5. Sing ye unto the 
Lord; for he hath wrought a stupendous work : this is 



64 

made manifest in all the earth. 6. Cry aloud, and shout 
for joy, O inhabitress of Zion ; for great in the midst of 
thee is the Holy One of Israel. 

xiii. 1. The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son 
of Amoz did see. 2. Lift ye up a banner upon the high 
mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that 
they may go into the gates of the nobles. 3. I have 
given a charge to mine enrolled warriors ; I have even call- 
ed my strong ones to execute my wrath ; those that ex- 
ult in my greatness. 4. A sound of a multitude in the 
mountains, as of a great people ! A sound of the tumult 
of kingdoms, of nations gathered together ! The Lord of 
hosts mustereth the host for the battle. 5. They come 
from a distant land, from the end of the heavens ; the 
Lord, and the instruments of his wrath to destroy the 
whole land. 6. Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is atv 
hand : it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. 
7. Therefore shall all hands be slackened ; and every 
man's heart shall melt ; and they shall be afraid. 8. Pangs 
and sorrows shall take hold of them ; they shall be in 
pain as a woman that travaiieth : they shall look one upon 
another with astonishment ; their countenances shall be 
like flames of fire. 9. Behold, the day of the Lord 
cometh, inexorable ; even indignation, and burning 
wrath : to make the land a desolation % and her sinners 
he shall destroy out of her. 10. Yea, the stars of hea- 
ven, and the constellations thereof, shall not send forth 
their light : the sun is darkened at his going forth, and 
the moon shall not cause her light to shine. 11. And 
I will visit the world for its evil, and the wicked for their 
iniquity : and I will put an end to the arrogance of the 
proud ; and I will bring down the haughtiness of the ter- 
rible — 19. And Babylon shall become, she that was the 
beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chal- 
deans, as the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, by the 
hand of God. 20. It shall not be inhabited for ever ; nor 
shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation : neither 
shall the Arabian pitch his tent there : neither shall the 
shepherds make their folds there. 21. But there shall 
the wild beasts of the deserts lodge ; and howling mon- 
sters skill fill their houses : and there shall the daughters 



65 

of the ostrich dwell ; and there shall the satyrs hold their 
revels. 22. And wolves shall howl to one another in 
their palaces ; and dragons in their voluptuous pavilions. 
And her time is near to come; and her days shall not be 
prolonged. 

xiv. 1. For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob, 
and will yet choose Israel. And he shall give them rest 
upon their own land : and the stranger shall be joined unto 
them, and shall cleave unto the house of Jacob. 2. And 
the nations shall take them, and bring them into their 
own place ; and the house of Israel shall possess them in 
the land of the Lord, as servants, and as handmaids : 
and they shall take them captive, whose captives they 
were ; and they shall rule over their oppressors. 

3. And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord 
.shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, 
and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to 
serve ; 4. That thou shalt take up this parable against the 
king of Babylon, and shalt say ; 

How hath the oppressor ceased ! the exactress of gold 
ceased ! 5. The Lord hath broken the staff of the wick- 
ed, the sceptre of the rulers. 6. He, that smote the peo- 
ples in wrath, with a stroke unremitted ; he, that ruled 
the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth. 
7. The whole earth is at rest, is quiet ; they burst forth 
into a joyful shout. 8. Even the fir-trees rejoice over 
thee, the cedars of Libanus : Since thou art fallen, no 
feller is come up against us. 9. Hades from beneath 
is moved because of thee, to meet thee at thy coming * 
he rouseth for thee the mighty dead, all the great chiefs 
of the earth ; he maketh to rise up from their thrones all 
the kings of the nations. 10. All of them shall accost 
thee, and say unto thee : Art thou, even thou too, be- 
come weak as we ? Art thou made like unto us? 11. Is 
then thy pride brought down to the grave ; the sound of 
thy sprightly instruments? Is the vermin become thy 
couch, and the earth-worm thy covering ? 12. How art 
thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning ! 
art cut down to the earth, thou that didst subdue the na- 
tions ! 13. For thou didst say in thy heart : I will ascend 
the heavens ; above the stars of God I will exalt mv 
9 



66 

throfte ; and I will sit upon the mount of the divine pre- 
sence, on the sides of the north : 14. I will ascend above 
the heights of the clouds ; I will be like the most High. 
15. But thou shalt be brought down to the grave, to the 
sides of the pit. 16. Those, that see thee, shall look atten- 
tively at thee ; they shall well consider thee : Is this the 
man, that made the earth to tremble ; that shook the 
kingdoms? 17. That made the w T orid like a desert ; that 
destroyed the cities ? that never dismissed his captives to 
their own home ? 18. All the kings of the nations, all of 
them, lie down in glory, each in his own sepulchre : 19. 
But thou art cast out of the grave, as the tree abominated; 
clothed with the slain, with the pierced by the sword, 
with them that go down to the stones of the pit ; as a 
trodden carcase. 20. Thou shalt not be joined unto them 
in burial ; because thou hast destroyed thy country, thou 
hast slain thy people : the seed of evil doers shall never 
be renowned. 21. Prepare ye slaughter for his children, 
for the iniquity of their fathers ; lest they rise, and possess 
the earth ; and fill the face of the world with cities. 22. 
For I will arise against them, saith the Lord of hosts ; and 
I will cut off from Babylon the name, and the remnant, 
and the son, and the son's son, saith the Lord ; 23. And 
I will make it an inheritance for the porcupine, and pools 
of water ; and I will plunge it in the miry gulph of de- 
struction, saith the Lord of hosts. 24. The Lord of hosts 
hath sworn, saying : Surely, as I have devised, so shall 
it be ; and, as I have purposed, that thing shall stand : 
,25. To crush the Assyrian in my land, and to trample 
him on my mountains. Then shall his yoke depart from 
off them ; and his burthen shall be removed from off 
their shoulder. 

26. This is the decree, which is determined on the 
whole earth ; and this is the hand, which is stretched out 
over the nations. 27. For the Lord of hosts hath de- 
creed ; and who shall disannul it ? And it is his hand, 
that is stretched out ; and who shall turn it back ? 

COMMENTARY. 

This prediction affords one of the most remarkable 
examples of double prop] wcy, that is to be met with in the 

1 



67 

whole of the sacred volume. The first advent of Christ 
is here connected with his second advent ; and the de- 
struction of the literal Babylon, with the overthrow of the 
mystical Babylon. For, unless the two-fold mode of in- 
terpretation be adopted, we shall find it impossible to 
produce any consistent exposition of the whole prophecy* 

Isaiah begins with foretelling the birth of Christ from, 
the depressed and impoverished royal house of David. 
He thence proceeds to describe his character; and in- 
troduces as one particular of it, a circumstance, which 
will not be accomplished till the times of the second 
advent. Our Lord is not only to judge the poor with 
righteousness and to convince the meek with equity ; 
but he is likewise to smite the earth w T ith the rod of his 
mouth, and with the breath of his lips to slay the wicked 
one. This exactly accords with the prediction of St. 
John, that he shall smite with a sharp sword, that goeth 
out of his mouth, the congregated vassals of Antichrist, 
the kings of the Latin earth * ; and with the parallel pre- 
diction of St. Paul, that he shall consume that wicked 
one, the papal man of sin, with the spirit of his mouth, 
and destroy him with the brightness of his coming f . 

Having described the character of the Messiah, Isaiah 
next pourtrays in glowing colours the blessings of his 
kingdom. The wild beasts are to lie down with the tame, 
and are to divest themselves of their savage natures. The 
ox is fearlessly to graze by the side of the lion, and the 
leopard is to dandle the kid. Beautiful as is the imagery 
of this celebrated passage J, I cannot consider it in the 

* Rev. xix. 15, 19. 

f 2 Thessal. ii. 8. It is remarkable that the ^few themselves understand 
this prophecy of Isaiah to relate to the final downfal of the Roman empire, 
at which period they rightly believe that their restoration will take place. 
'* How much soever the man rf sin may be exalted, and how long soever he 
may reign, yet at last the Lord shall consume him with the spirit of his mouth, 
and shall destroy him with the brightness of his coming. This is partly taken, 
from the prophet tsaiah (xi. 4.), and with the breath of his lips shall he slay 
the wicked one : where the yenvs, as Lightfoot observes, put an emphasis upon 
that word in the prophet the wicked one, as it appeareth by the Chaldec para- 
phrast, who hath uttered it He shall destroy the wicked Roman." Bp. New- 
ton's Dissert, xxit 3. Sec also Mr Lowth in loc. 

t Independent of those ancient poets, Theocritus, Virgil, and Horace, and 
of some of the Arabian and Persian poets, whom Bp. Lowth has noticed as 
depicting with similar imagery the golden age, two at least, who have writ- 
ten since the Christian era, have attempted to copy the beautiful strains of 



68 

light of a mere poetical description of a golden age. In 
the shadowy dispensation of the Mosaical law, a distinc- 
tion was made between clean and unclean meats. Of the 
one the Jews were permitted to eat : from the other they 
were required to abstain. Now it will be found upon ex- 
amination, that the animals, whose flesh they were forbid- 
den to taste, were usually typical of some vices practised 
by the idolatrous ; and, pursuant to the type, they care- 
fully withdrew from the fellowship and company of the 
antitype, the heathen nations- Thus, not to notice other 
prohibited animals, lions, wolves, bears, and leopards, 
were fit emblems of rapacity, cruelty, and persecution, 
Hence their flesh was forbidden in the Mosaical law; and 
hence Daniel uses some of them to symbolize the perse- 
cuting and idolatrous empires of the Gentiles*. On the 
other hand, the kinds of food, which the Jews were allow- 
ed to eat, were generally the flesh of certain animals 
emblematical of some virtue ; as the ox, of patience and 
industry ; the sheep, of meekness and innocence. Conse- 
quently, as wild and ravenous beasts were typical of the 
Gentiles, so tame and domestic animals were considered 
as proper symbols of the Church of God, at that time 
confined to the Jews\. Nor is this the mere fancy of a 
visionary commentator : we have the express warrant of 
inspired authority for adopting such an opinion. When 
God was about to send St. Peter to the devout Roman 
centurion Cornelius, foreseeing his scruples, he conde- 
scended to remove them by a vision, manifestly explana- 

the Hebrew bard ; Nonnus, and Pope. The Messiah of the latter is welt 
known ; the classical reader will find the passage of the former, to which F 
allude, in the 41st book of his Dionysiacs. The following" is a translation 
of it: 

The tawny lion for a while forgot 

His nature, and with wanton gambols play'd 

Around the fearless ox; the generous steed 

In graceful curvets testified his joy ; 

The spotted panther frolick'tl near the hare; 

And close beside the wolf, the blithsome kid 

Rejoie'd secure, and gaily play'd at will 

His wayward fancies. 

* See Dan. vii. 

j- For the reasons of the seeming" exception in Dan. via, where two cleatf 
animals, the ram and the goat, are used to symbolize the Persian and iJtfbrce- 
donian empires. See Bp. Newton's Dissert, xv. 



69 

tory of this very prophecy of Isaiah. The Apostle beheld 
a great sheet descending from heaven full of all manner 
of animals, both wild beasts and tame beasts, both rep- 
tiles and birds : and, while he was thus looking upon 
objects which must have been an abomination to a pious 
Jew, he suddenly heard a voice commanding him to kill 
and eat. To this command he objected, on the plea that 
he had never eaten any thing forbidden by the law, and 
therefore accounted profane and unclean : but he was 
charged in return not to presume to call that unclean, 
which God had cleansed. Now in this vision of St. Peter, 
no mention whatsoever is made either of the Jews or of 
the Gentiles, except under their types, the clean and un- 
clean animals : and yet he found no difficulty in under- 
standing its meaningv He conceived it to import, as it 
undoubtedly does import, that henceforth the Jews and 
the Gentiles were to form only one Church : and accord- 
ingly baptized Cornelius without any further hesitation. 
Precisely the same is the meaning of this prophecy of 
Isaiah. It began to be fulfilled in the day of the first 
advent, when the converted Gentiles were added to the 
Apostles and to such other of the Jews as had embraced 
Chistianity. But this is only its inchoate and imperfect 
accomplishment : nor will it be altogether fulfilled, till 
the Gentiles shall have ceased to destroy throughout the 
whole of God's holy mountain, till both Judah and Israel 
shall be restored and converted, and till the earth shall be 
full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover 
the sea *. 

Accordingly the prophet goes on to inform us, that in* 
that day the root of Jesse shall be an ensign unto the peo- 

* The reader will find this point very fully and excellently discussed in the 
third lecture on the figurative language of the Holy Scriptures by the late Rev. 
W. Jones. It is worthy of notice, that the Law itself, no less than the Gos- 
pel, teaches us that the distinction between clean and unclean meats was allusive 
to the distinction between the Jews and the Gentiles. " Ye shall not walk in the 
manners of the nations which I cast out before you — I am the Lord your God, 
which have separated you from other people ■, ye shall therefore put a differ- 
ence between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean 
— and ye shall be holy unto me ; for I, the Lord, am holy, and have sevi«n d 
you from other people that ye should be mine." (Levit. xx. 23.) Mr. Jones 
justly remarks, that "this passage puts the moral intention of the distinction 
of meats out of dispute, and is indeed a direct affirmation of it : the people of 
God were to avoid unclean meats, as a sign that he had separated them from 
unclean Gentiles to be holy unto himself." 



70 

pies, that the nations shall repair unto him, and that his 
resting-place shall be glorious. Whether by this ensign 
we are to understand the manifestation of the Shechinah 
immediately before the destruction of Antichrist, to which 
distant nations will humbly repair, bringing along with 
them the dispersion of Israel; or the metaphorical unfurl- 
thg of the banner of the cross, may perhaps admit of a 
doubt. The last idea however, namely that of a general 
diffusion of Christianity, is necessarily involved in the 
former. To this ensign both Jews and Gentiles will ulti- 
mately seek : for the tvhole Israel of God, Ephraim as 
well as Judah, will be converted and restored ; and the 
whole Gentile world, after the overthrow of the Antichris- 
tian faction, will embrace the profession of pure and vi- 
tal religion*. In order as it were, that we may not mis- 
take the restoration here predicted for the restoration from 
the literal Babylon, Isaiah carefully teaches us, that the 
Lord shall put forth his hand a second time to recover the 
remnant of his peoplef ; and that, not merely from As- 
syria and other eastern regions, but likewise from the 
isles of the west, or the maritime regions of Europe. He 
moreover teaches us that Ephraim and Judah shall both 
be restored ; that their former enmity shall be done away ; 
and that henceforth they shall jointly form only one na- 
tion. And he adds certain circumstances peculiar to the 
final restoration of Israel. Edom, Moab, and Ammon, 
which had escaped out of the hand of Antichrist\, are to 
become subject, both temporally and spiritually, I appre- 

* " When the ten tribes made a separation from Judah, Ephraim was look- 
ed upon as the principal tribe of that separation, and is often put for Israel, as 
that was a distinct kingdom from Judah. Thus the word is taken here ; and. 
the verse imports, that the quarrels and dissentions which used to be be- 
tween those two rival kingdoms shall be quite at an end, and they shall both 
"be governed by one king, the Messiah. We may further observe, that in 
most of the prophecies, when the general restoration of the Jews is foretold, 
Israel and Judah are joined together, as equally sharers in the blessing." 
Xowth's Comment, on Isaiah xi. 13. 

f " 1 take this part of the chapter," says Mr. Lowth very justly, "from the 
tenth verse onward, to foretell those glorious times of the Church which shall 
be ushered in by the restoration of the Jewish nation; when they shall em- 
brace the Qospel, and be restored to their own country from the several dis- 
persions where they are scattered. This remarkable scene of Providence is 
plainly foretold by most of the prophets of the Old Testament, and by St 
Paul in the New." Comment, on Isaiah xi. 11. 

£ Dan. xi. 41. 



71 

hend, to the house of Jacob * : the tongue of the Egyptian 
sea, or the widely overflowing Nile, is to be dried upf: an$. 
the river of Assyria, or the great river Euphrates, is to 
be smitten into seven streams, so that the ancient people 
of the Lord may pass over it dry-shod. In the symboli- 
cal language of prophecy, rivers denote bodies politic : 
whence the drying up of rivers signifies the overthrow of 
those bodies politic which they typify. Accordingly, in the 
parallel passage of Zcchariah, this exhaustion of the mys- 
tical Nile and Euphrates is so explained J. We are 
taught, that these two political rivers are to be dried up, 
in order that there may be a highway for the remnant of 
Israel out of the land of Assyria : but, whether they will 
be dried up precisely at the same time, does not appear 
either from Isaiah or Zechariah. We may gather how- 
ever from other prophecies which treat of the same sub- 
ject, that the exhaustion of the Euphrates will precede 
the exhaustion of the Nile : though, how great an inter- 
val there will be between the two events, is no where de- 
finitely said. St. John informs us, that tine Euphrates 
will be dried up under the sixth vial, that a way may 
be prepared for the kings from the rising of the sun : and 
he places the expedition and destruction of Antichrist sub- 
sequent to it, under the seventh vial, yet without making 
any mention of Egijpt or the Nile. Daniel, on the other 

* It is possible however that these nations ought to be understood mysti- 
cally, as typifying the various members of the Antichristian confederacy. Such 
an interpretation of the passage is preferred by Mr. Lowth ; and it accords 
no doubt with various prophecies that foretell the restoration of die Jews. 
" These people," says he, " were all borderers upon Palestine, and took all 
occasions to shew their spite and ill will against the yews. Upon which 
account, in the prophetical dialect, they are often used in a general sense for 
the enemies of God's truth and people. The meaning- therefore of the place 
is, that God's people should have a complete victory over their enemies, 
whether they be the associates of Antichrist, or of whatsoever other denomi- 
nation." Comment, on Isaiah xi. 14. 

f Both here, and in a succeeding prophecy (Isaiah xix. 5.), the Egyptian sea 
appears to mean the Nile, whether literal or symbolical, which, at the period 
of its overflowing, covers the country like a sea. (See Mr. Lowth in Loc.) 
This language is probably borrowed from the phraseology of the Egyptians 
themselves, who were wont, as we are informed by Diodorus Siculus, to 
style their river the Ocean. f Oi yotg Aiyv7rlioi vo/bu^ac-iv Qkbccvov eivxi rev 
ttu^ xvjois TrolctfMv N«Aov. (Bibl. Hist. L. 1. p. 12.) It is observable how- 
ever, that Jeremiah in a similar manner calls the Euphrates the sea, when 
predicting the future state of Babylon in consequence of the manner in which 
it was taken by Cyrus. Compare Jerem. li. 42. with Bp. Newton's Dissert x. 
vol. i. p. 298, 309. 

r Zechar.x. 11. 



72 

hand, does not take any notice of the exhaustion of the 
Euphrates ; but he gives a very minute account of the 
expedition of Antichrist, and represents his conquest of 
Egypt as being one of his very latest* exploits. Hence it 
is plain, that, since the Euphrates is to be dried up pre- 
vious to the expedition of Antichrist, and since Egypt is 
to fall into his hands during the course of that expedition, 
the two events, which Isaiah and Zechariah connect to- 
gether, are not contemporary ; though, how long the one 
will precede the other, can only be determined by the 
event. 

As for the great river Euphrates, it symbolizes, as 
we may conclude very unequivocally from the Apoca- 
lypse, the Ottoman empire, of which Assyria was the cra- 
dle, and of which it still remains a principal province : 
and, by comparing the prophecy of St. John respecting 
its exhaustion with the parallel prophecies of Isaiah and 
Zechariah respecting the same circumstance, we may de- 
termine, with perhaps as much certainty as matters of 
this nature are capable of, that the kings from the east 
mean the dispersed of Israel. St. John informs us, that 
the great river Euphrates will be dried up previous to 
the expedition of Antichrist, in order to prepare a way 
for the kings from the east : Isaiah and Zechariah concur 
in declaring, that both the Egyptian sea or 4he J\ile, and 
the river by which name the Jews were wont simply and 
by way of eminence to speak of the Euphrates, will be 
dried up, in order that there may be a highway for the 
remnant of God's people from Egypt and from Assyria. 
Since then this exhaustion of the Euphrates, predicted 
alike by Isaiah, Zechariah, and St. John, is manifestly to 
take place in the last days, or during the tyrannical reign 
of Antichrist ; and since it is equally to prepare a way 
for the kings from the east, and for tlie remnant of Israel 
from the eastern region of Assyria : we seem to be com- 
pelled, as it were, to adopt the conclusion, that the kings 
from the east are the remnant of Israel. 

That the river spoken of by Isaiah and Zechariah, is 
in those passages, no less than in many others *, the Eu- 

* See 1 Kings iv. 21. — Psalm lxxii. 3. — Psalm lxxx. 11. in which three pas- 
sages, the dominions of Solomon are characterized, as extending* from the 
river, that is the river Euphrates, to the sea and the uttermost parts of the 



phrcttes and not the Nile, is abundantly evident from the 
context. Zechariah explains the sinking of the river, 
and the sea, by the bringing down the pride of Assyria, 
and by causing the sceptre of Egypt to depart away. And 
both he and Isaiah alike represent this exhaustion as be- 
ing preparatory to the return of Israel out of Assyria and 
Egypt. Now it is obvious, since the smiting of the sea 
and the river denotes literally the humbling of Egypt and 
Assyria, that the sea must mean the Nile, and that the 
river must mean the Euphrates. And the matter will be 
yet more evident, when w r e consider the consequences of 
the smiting. It was to prepare a way for Israel, not only 
out of Egypt, but likewise out of Assyria. But how 
could the smiting of the Nile, or, in other words, the 
overthrow of the Egyptian government, prepare a way 
for Israel to come out of Assy ria ? Hence it is plain, that 
the sea means one thing, and the river another : and hence 
the Chaldee Paraphrast very sensibly explains what is 
simply termed the river by the river Euphrates*. The 
purport therefore of the prophecy is this : that, by the 
overthrow o£ the Ottoman empire, and by the disso- 
lution of the then existing government of Egypt (pro- 
bably the Mamaluc government), a way will be pre- 
pared for the return of the lost ten tribes. By what power 
the Ottoman empire will be subverted, we are not posi- 
tively told ; but we learn from Daniel, that the govern- 
ment of Egypt will be overturned by Antichrist after he 
has overrun Palestine. 

Whether the division of the mystic Euphrates into se- 
ven streams denotes some septipartite division of the Tur- 
kish empire at the period of its overthrow, or whether 

earth. I think there are passages in Scripture, which afford us some war- 
rant for believing, that these will likewise be the limits of Israel after" the 
final restoration. Compare Psalm lxxii. 8 with Zechar. ix. 9, 10 —Isaiah xi. 14. 
— xlix. 19, 20. — and Gen. xv. 18. The extensive dominions of Solomon seem to 
be typical of the same extensive dominions of Israel, when fully restored, and 
united under one king the Messiah, of whom Solomon was only a shadow. 

* " Elevabit plagam fortitudinis suae super Euphratem." Wolfgang Mus- 
culus adopts tl>e same interpretation : " Super fluvium, id est, Euphratem." 
(Wolfgang-. Muse. Comment, in Isaiam in loc.) Mr. Lowth thinks that the 
Nile is intended by the river. Yet he allows, that the drying up of this river 
imports the same as the exhaustion of the Euphrates in the Apocalypse. If 
such then be the case, I see not how it is possible for the river to be any 
other than the Euphrates. Comment, on Isaiah xL 15, 16. 

10 



the expression is only to be generally understood as ex- 
hibiting to us the manner in which a large river may be 
rendered insignificant and shallow by conducting its wa- 
ters along six or more additional artificial channels*, it 
would be in vain at present to attempt to determine. 
That the overthrow of the Ottoman monarchy will in the 
hand of Providence be instrumental in bringing about 
the restoration of the ten tribes, cannot however, as it ap- 
pears to me, be reasonably doubted. 

It may be worth our while to consider, whether this 
prophecy, respecting the drying up of the Euphrates, 
may not receive a literal, no less than a symbolical, ac- 
complishment. I doubt whether we have any right to in- 
terpret the prediction of St. John in such a manner, be- 
cause he appears altogether to confine himself to the lan- 
guage of symbolsf ; but a greater latitude of exposition 
may perhaps be allowable in discussing a prophecy of 
Isaiah or Zechariah. Now we know, that, whenever the 
Israelites shall return into their own land from Assyria 
and other more eastern regions, they must necessarily 
cross the literal Euphrates : and it is very remarkable, 
that Isaiah expressly compares their restoration from As- 
syria with their ancient exodus from Egypt, and attaches 
this comparison to a prediction respecting the drying up 
of the great river. A question therefore naturally arises, 
How will the yet future restoration of the Israelites from 
Assyria resemble their ancient exodus from Egypt, unless 
they then miraculously pass through the Euphrates, as 
they heretofore miraculously passed through the Red sea 
and the river Jordan ? I can discover nothing absurd, 
either in adopting the opinion that at the destruction of 
Antichrist there will be a preternatural manifestation of 
God's glory, or in thinking it not improbable that they 
may be led by the arm of the Lord through the very 
midst of the Euphrates. 

Having now conducted the whole house of Israel, 
Ephraim as well as Judah, into their own land, the pro- 



* See Herod. L. i. C. 189. 

f I of course except a few passages in the Apocalypse, which appear to 
be avowedly descriptive, and which accordingly have been so understood by 



75 

phet puts into their mouth a solemn hymn of praise and 
victory. He represents them, as giving thanks unto the 
Lord for having turned away his anger from them, and 
for having comforted them ; as joyfully drawing living 
waters from the fountains of salvation ; as celebrating the 
stupendous work of their conversion and restoration, a 
work made manifest in all the earth ; and as exulting in 
the glorious appearance of the Holy One in the midst of 
Jerusalem. Such w r e may conceive will be the songs of 
the ancient people of God, when brought to the know- 
ledge of the crucified Redeemer, and when forming the 
eldest branch of the triumphant millennian Church *. 

The part of the prophecy, which I have hitherto ex- 
amined, may by itself be considered as a perfect whole ; 
inasmuch as it predicts the restoration ofJadah and Israel, 
points out the mode in which a way will be prepared for 
that restoration, hints at the overthrow of Antichrist, and 
describes the glory and happiness of the Millennium. Isaiah 
however, in a manner not unusual with the ancient pro- 
phets, of which we shall hereafter see many instances, 
resumes, in the 13th and 14th chapters, a division of his 
subject, concerning which he had as yet spoken but 
slightly ; I mean the overthrow of the AnticJiristian con- 
federacy. This confederacy he exhibits to us under the 
mystic name of Babylon, a name used for the same pur- 
pose by St. John in the Revelation. There is a differ- 
ence nevertheless in the manner wherein the two pro- 
phets apply the name. St. John, writing after the down- 
fal of the literal Babylon, uses the appellation mystically 
alone ; and describes under that title the papal Roman 
empire, both temporal and spiritual, as is manifest from 
the compound symbol of the woman riding upon the ten- 
horned beast, and (I may add) from the general context 
of the Apocalypse. Whereas Isaiah, writing before the 
downfal of the literal Babylon, uses the appellation both 
literally and mystically : and thus predicts the overthrow 
both of the literal and the mystical Babylon. Yet, so far 
as the arrangement of his prophecy is concerned, he seems 

* "This chapter (Isaiah xii.) is a hymn of praise proper to be used in that 
triumphant state of the Church described in the foregoing- chapter.'* Argu- 
ment to Lowth's Comment, on Isaiah xii. 



76 

to devote the 13th chapter principally to the one, and the 
14th to the other ; though, I believe, without excluding 
a double meaning from either chapter. 

But it may naturally be asked, What is my authority 
for adopting this double mode of interpretation? Why may 
not the whole prophecy be applied to the literal Babylon? 
And why should it be supposed to have any connection 
with the prophecy, which may not improperly be thought 
to conclude with the 12th chapter, 

I answer, that my authority, even independent of cer- 
tain remarkable passages contained in the prophecy of 
the burden of Babylon* , for adopting this double mode 
of interpretation is the opening of the 14th chapter. It is 
there predicted, that the Lord will have compassion on 
Jacob, and will yet choose Israel ; that he will give them 
rest in their own land ; that the stranger shall be joined 
unto them, and shall cleave unto the house of Jacob; that 
the nations shall take them, and bring them into their own 
place ; that the house of Israel shall possess them, as ser- 
vants and as handmaids, in the land of the Lord; that 
they shall take those captive, whose captives they were ; 
and that they shall rule over their oppressors. Now, when 
all these matters are accomplished ; when the Lord has 
given them rest from their affliction, from their disquiet, 
and from their hard servitude : in that day, they are to 
take up a parable against their fallen enemy, the king of 
Babylon. These matters however can by no means be 
said to have been accomplished merely by the restora- 
tion of Judah from the Babylonian captivity^. Here the 
whole house of Jacob is to be brought back : then Judah 
alone returned ; for it is little better than a quibble, as 
Bp. Horsley justly observes, to interpret the prophecies 
respecting the general restoration of Israel 2& accomplish- 
ed in the return of a few scattered individuals of the ten 
tribes with Judah. Here the stranger is to be joined unto 
them, an august prediction of the gathering in of the 
Gentiles to the millennian Church, the eldest branch of 
which will be the converted of Israel: then, if the pro- 
phecy be applied to the restoration of Judah from Baby- 

* These will presently be noticed and commented upon. 
| See Mr. Lowth's Comment, on Isaiah xiv. 1, ? 



77 

kn, a single proselyte was occasionally converted to the 
law ; and latterly at least, as our Lord assures us, the 
conversion of such proselytes served only to make them 
two-fold more children of hell than their Pharisaical con- 
verters*. Here the nations are to take them, and to bring 
them into their own place : then the Jews were restored 
by the instrumentality of the Medo- Persians only. Here 
the house of Israel is to possess those nations that restored 
them, as servants and as handmaids ; by which, I sup- 
pose, we are to understand, that they shall acknowledge 
the primogeniture of the Levitical Church, and both tem- 
porally and spiritually minister to its restoration and sup- 
port f : then the Jews did not possess their restorers the 
Persians, as servants and as handmaids, in any sense that 
the words are capable of. Here they are to take those 
captive, whose captives they were, and are to rule over 
their oppressors : then the Jews neither took any of the 
Babylonians captive, nor exercised any authority over the 
nation that had oppressed them. In short, if we admit 
this part of the prophecy to have been at all accomplished 
at the return of Judah from Babylon, we can only admit it 
in a very lax and vague manner, in a merely inchoate 
and imperfect sense. Every member of it compels us to 
look forward to the yet future restoration of the whole 
house of Israel ; and every member of it will admit of a 
most easy and natural interpretation, if we do thus look 
forward. Accordingly Bp. Lowth, induced (I appre- 
hend) by such a train of reasoning as I have here drawn 
out at length, observes very justly, that " the name of 
Jacob and Israel, used apparently with design in this 
place, each of which names includes the twelve tribes ; 
and other circumstances, mentioned in the two first verses 
of the \4>th chapter, which did not in any complete sense 
accompany the return from the captivity of Babylon ; 
seem to intimate, that this whole prophecy extends its 
views beyond that eventf ." And, if it do extend its 

* Matt, xxiii. 15. 

f See Isaiah ii. 1 — 5 — xlix. 22, 23— lx— lxvi. 12, 19, 20— Rom. xi. 11—36. 

* Mr. Lowth, like myself, supposes Isaiah xi. xii. xiii. and xiv. to form one 
continued prophecy ; nay he even extends it somewhat unwarrantably, I 
think, to the end of chap, xxvii. Ue very justly maintains, that the Babylon 
of this prediction must unavoidably be understood in a double sense. " After 



7S 

views beyond that event, to what can it extend them ex- 
cept the final and general restor ation of the house of Jacob? 
And, if it extend its views to this final restoration, as it 
plainly must do, then both Babylon and her king must 
be understood mystically. For it is said, that, in the day 
of that very restoration and deliverance which the prophet 
had been so fully describing, the people of the Lord shall 
take up their parable against the king of Babylon, But 
the literal Babylon has long since been blotted out of the 
list of nations. Therefore the Babylon, which is to be 
destroyed at the era of the yet future restoration oflsreal, 
can only be a mystical Babylon : and consequently its 
king can only be a mystical king of Babylon*. 

The accurate completion of the prophecy, particularly 
that part of it which is contained in the 13th chapter, in 
the downfal and present state of the literal Babylon, I 
shall pass over as being foreign to my subject : observ- 
ing only, that the day of its overthrow is styled the 
day of the Lord, as being typical of the great day of the 
second advent ; that is represented as being attended with 
signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, the usual pro- 
phetic imagery to describe political revolutions f ; and 
that the prediction, respecting the present desolate state 
of Babylon, has been manifestly copied and transferred 
by St. John to the future state of the mystical Babylon. %. 

the description of tftt>se glorious times which should come to pass in the lat- 
ter days, the prophet foretells the destruction of God's enemies, and begins 
with Babylon, whither God's people were to be carried captive, and therefore 
was a type or figure of Antichrist the great oppressor of God's Church in 
after times. And whoever carefully considers several particulars in this and 
the next chapter (Isaiah xiii. xiv.), and compares them with the former part 
of chap. xxi. with chap, xlvii. and Jerem. 1, and li. which treat of the same 
subject, will easily find that these prophecies have an aspect beyond the tak- 
ing of Babylon by Cyrus, inasmuch as the prophets describe this judgment as 
a decisive stroke, that should thoroughly vindicate the cause of oppressed 
truth and innocence, and put a final period to idolatry and to all the miseries 
and oppressions of God's people." Argument to Comment, on Isaiah xiii. 

* Mr. Lowth remarks, that Isaiah xiv. is "a continuation of the same sub- 
ject" as that treated of in the three preceding chapters, " containing a pre- 
diction of the utter downfal of the Babylonian empire and extirpation of the 
royal family there, under which description is figuratively represented the 
destruction of the powers of Antichrist ; the consequence of which would be 
the deliverance and restoration of the Jewish nation in particular, and of the 
Church in general." Argument to Comment, on Isaiah xiv. 

f See Mr. Lowth on Isaiah xiii. 10. 

* Compare Isaiah xiii 19—22 with Rev. xviii. 2, 22, 23. Mr. Lowth re- 
marks, that from the tenor of ver. 19 "we may conclude that this prophecy 



I have observed, that the mystical Babylon is the whole 
papal Roman empire, both temporal and spiritual ; which, 
at the era of the final restoration ofJudah, will have coa- 
lesced into a grand confederacy of the beast under his last 
or Carlovingian head, the false prophet or the Romish 
hierarchy, and the vassal federal kings of the Latin earth. 
Such being the case, it may be a matter of some doubt, 
whether by the king of Babylon we are to understand the 
temporal, or the spiritual, chief of the Roman empire ; the 
Carlovingian head (which recent events apparently teach 
us to identify with the infidel Antichristian king ) , or the 
false prophet. There are certainly many points of resem- 
blance in the predicted character of this mystical king of 
Babylon, which might lead us to conceive him to be the 
apostate bishop of Rome ; and there is undoubtedly no 
small similarity between his character and that of the 
prince of Tyre, as exhibited to us by Ezekiel, who teach- 
es us like Isaiah to refer the overthrow of this prince to 
the days of the final restoration of Israel*. Now the 
prince of Tyre, as I shall hereafter shew at large, can on- 
ly, from the description which is given of him, be the 
papal man of sin : whence we might suppose, that the 
king of Babylon, who is to perish at the very same era 
With the mystical prince of Tyre, must be the papal man 
of sin likewise, or the spiritual sovereign of the Roman 
empire. This however, I apprehend, is not the case ; for 
there is a sufficient degree of difference between the two 
portraits to shew that they cannot both have been intend- 
ed for the same person. 

The prince of Tyre is represented as having once been 
perfect, and as afterwards corrupting himself; as having 
long been in the holy mountain of God, whence he is at 
length cast out on account of his sins ; and as defiling 
his sanctuaries by the iniquity of his traffic. Whereas 
the king of Babylon is depicted as having been uniformly 
corrupt ; as oppressing the nations with armed violence, 

looks further to another Babylon, mentioned in the Revelation. This is a 
pregnant instance among many others, that the mystical sense of several pro- 
phecies, that is, the sense which is more remotely intended, comes nearer to 
the letter of the prophecies than that which some call the literal sense, and 
think to have been immediately designed bv the prophet " 
* See Ezek. xxvjii. 



80 

rather than seducing them by iniquitous blandishments ; 
and as meditating, only at the time of the completion of 
the prophecy, to sit upon the mount of the divine pre- 
sence, on the sides of the north. In other respects there 
is a considerable resemblance between their characters. 
There is in short much the same difference and much the 
same resemblance between them, that there is between 
Daniel's infidel king and St. Paul's man of sin : and I am 
strongly inclined to believe, that the two portraits are al- 
together distinct, and were drawn by Isaiah and Ezekiel 
for the two sovereigns, temporal and spiritual, of the La- 
tin empire ; in other words, the Carlovingian head of the 
beast when united with Antichrist, and the false Romish 
prophet. 

But let us examine, how far the character of the mys- 
tical king of Babylon will answer to that of the infidel 
king. 

They are both to be oppressors : they are both to be no- 
torious exactors of gold : they are both to smite the peo- 
ples with unremitting strokes, and to rule the nations in 
their fury. If the king of Babylon is to sit in the mount 
of the divine presence ; the infidel king is to pitch the 
curtains of his pavilions in the glorious holy mountain 
between the seas : and, if the king of Babylon is to be 
crushed in the land of God, and to be trampled down in 
his mountains ; the infidel king is, in the very same re- 
gion and at the very period, namely that of the final re- 
storation of Judah, to come to his end, none being able 
to help him*. The prince of Tyre indeed is said to be 
cast out of the holy mountain : but, in his case, the holy 
mountain must be understood, not of the literal mount 
Zion, but of the Christian Church ; because he is de- 
scribed as having long been in it, even during his perfect 
or uncorrupted statef. Whereas, in the case of the king 
of Babylon, the mount of the divine presence must, like 
tfhe holy ?nountain between the seas mentioned by Daniel, 
"be understood literally : both because the king is not said, 

* Mr. Lowth, like myself, supposes Isaiah xiv. 13. and Dan. xi. 45. to be 
parallel passages. Comment, on Dan. xi. 45. 

f Compare Isaiah xiv. 13. with Ezek. xxviii. 14, 15, 16. The whole con- 
text of this latter passage shews, that it can only be understood figuratively. 
But it will be discussed at larga hereafter in its proper place. 



81 

like the prince of Tyre, to have sat there in a perfect state, 
but only in the course of those events which terminate in 
his destruction ; and because it is afterwards Lterally pre- 
dicted that his overthrow shall take place in Palestine. 
Hence we must, I think, as in the parallel prophecy of 
Daniel, understand the king's sitting in the mountain of 
the divine presence, and his afterwards perishing in the 
holy land, as absolutely literal matters of lact. And here 
I may remark, that the region, assigned for the destruc- 
tion of the Icing of Babylon, namely, Palestine*, suffici- 
ently shews, that Isaiah meant to describe a mystical cha- 
racter, and not to confine his prophecy merely to the lite- 
ral king of Babylon. The literal sovereign of Assyria 
was assuredly never crushed in the mountain of God's 
land ; but his empire, as it is well known, was broken by 
the Medo-Persians in the very midst of his capital city. 
Bp. Lowth accordingly observes, that " the circumstance 
of this judgment's being to be executed on God's moun- 
tains is of importance -\." He refers us indeed primarily 
to the destruction of Sennacherib's army near Jerusalem ; 
but supposes that the prophecy may have a still further 
view to the overthrow of Gog and Magog, as predicted 
by Ezekiel %. In thus stating the matter, I certainly think 
him altogether mistaken, except in his opinion that the 
prophecy yet remains to be fulfilled : for the destruction 
of Sennacherib was not at all connected even with the 
return of Judah from the Babylonian captivity ; and the 
overthrow of Gog and Magog, as we shall hereafter see, 
will not take place at the era of the final restoration of 
Israel, but at the close of the Millennium. 

If in some points the character of the mystical king of 
Babylon resemble that of the ijifidel king, in others it no 
less resembles that of the Roman beast under his Carlo- 
vingian head, when organizing a confederacy of vassal 

* " Surely, as I have devised, so shall it be ; and, as I have purposed, that 
thing shall stand : to crush the Assyrian in my land, and to trample him on 
my mountains." Isaiah xiv. 24, 25. 

f Mr. Lowth has much the same observation. " To make this part of the 
verse (ver. 25.) agree better with what follows, then shall the yoke depart 
from thy neck, which words imply the final deliverance of God's people ; I 
am apt to think, that by the Assyrian may be meant some remarkable enemies 
of God's Church" Comment, in loc. 
.t Ezek. xxxix. 4. 

11 



82 

kings, and planning an expedition against Palestine. In 
the symbolical language of prophecy, he is styled the 
bright morning star, pre-eminent in lustre above all the 
other stars or sovereign princes of the political firma- 
ment : and he is represented, as proudly saying in his 
heart, / will ascend the heavens ; my empire shall be an 
universal one, extending over the whole heaven of royalty ; 
above the stars of God, above all the anointed vie e-gerents 
of the Lord, I will exalt my throne ; subject to my fede- 
ral influence, and owing their very existence to me, they 
shall be mere vassals of my empire ; I will be a king of 
kvn^s ; I will be the sole effective head of a vast body po- 
litic ; I zvill ascend above the heights of the clouds ; I 
will be like the Most High. Do we not in this descrip- 
tion recognize the beast under his last head, aiming at 
universal empire, possessing an unbounded sway over 
many vassal princes, and daring in the last stage of his 
mad impiety to contend even with God himself? 

The sum of the whole matter is this. We have here 
exhibited to us, under the mystic name of the king of 
Babylon, a power destined to perish, at the yet future era 
of the restoration ofJudah, in the land of Palestine ; after 
it has exercised a most merciless tyranny over the sur- 
rounding nations, and after it has seated itself in the mount 
of the divine presence. We learn from Daniel, that a 
certain power, which should begin to manifest itself sub- 
sequent to the reformation, and which for reasons both cir- 
cumstantial and chronological can only be infidel France*, 
will perform the very same actions, and will afterwards 
perish, at the very same time, and in the very same coun- 
try. We further learn from St. John, that the power, 
which is to do and suffer all this, will be the last head of 
the Roman beast, contriving and influencing a confederacy 
of the Pope and the Popish sovereigns of the Latin em- 
pire^. Now, upon turning from prophecy to facts, we 
find all these predictions, at once harmonizing together, 
and wonderfully according with existing circumstances. 
The republic of France, after running the mad career by 
which the first stage of the infidel king's existence is so 

* See my Dissertation on the 1260 days, Chap. 6. 

f See my Dissert, on the 1260 days. Vol. ii. p. 363 (2d edit. p. 404.) 



strongly marked, is become a military despotism. Recent 
events have made the chief of that despotism the undoubt- 
ed representative of Charlemagne, by whose very name 
indeed his servile flatterers delight to call him ; and con- 
sequently have made him the last or Carlovingian head of 
the beast. And scarcely has he acquired this long covet- 
ed pre-eminence, ere he begins to form a conspiracy of 
federal kings as himself indeed scruples not to call them ; 
a conspiracy, the rise of which we are taught by St. John 
to expect about this very period, and which, under the 
sixth apocalyptic vial, after the Ottoman empire shall have 
been overthrown, will begin to be gathered by secret di- 
abolical influence to Megiddo in Palestine #*. The end of 
the monster few perhaps of the present generation will 
behold : yet that end is unanimously predicted by the in- 
spired prophets who treat of the restoration of Judah ; 
and, from the accuracy with which all that they have fore- 
told respecting this impious tyranny has been hitherto 
accomplished, we cannot doubt that all which they have 
declared respecting its end will be no less accurately ac^ 
complished. 

Let any person, with these views of the subject, care* 
fully peruse the fourteenth chapter of Isaiah, and, I think, 
he cannot but be struck with its wonderful exactness of 
description. Judah and Israel, now restored to their own 
country, exult over the downfal of a mystic king of Ba- 
bylon; whose empire is characterized as a rapacious ex- 
actress of gold, and himself as a merciless oppressor of 
the nations. The Lord hath broken the staff of the wick- 
ed, the sceptre of the rulers ; the sceptre of him that smote 
the peoples in his wrath, that ruled the nations in his an- 
ger. By his fall the whole earth is at rest : and all, that 
behold it, exclaim ; " Is this the man that made the earth 
to tremble ; that shook the kingdoms ; that made the world 
like a desert ; that destroyed the cities ? How art thou 
fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning ! How 

* It is a curious circumstance, that in one of the speeches, detailed by the 
Moniteur as delivered to the legislative body, the political system, which we 
now behold rapidly advancing- to maturity, is styled a confederacy and a pious 
if ague. 



84 

art thou cut down to the earth, thou that didst subdue 
the nations ! Thou didst say in thy heart : I will ascend 
the heavens ; above the stars of God I will exalt my 
throne ; I will sit upon the mount of the divine presence, 
on the sides of the north ; I will ascend above the heights 
of the clouds ; I will be like the Most High. But thou 
shalt be brought down to the grave, to the sides of the 
pit. Thou shalt be crushed in the land of the Lord ; thou 
shalt be trampled upon in his mountains. Thy yoke shall 
depart from off Judah ; thy burden shall be removed from 
off their shoulder #." 

Such will be the destruction of Antichrist : but the 
prophet, by " one of the boldest prosopopoeias that ever 
was attempted in poetry," carries us yet beyond his de- 

* Vitringa supposes, that this prophecy respecting the king of Babylon will 
receive its ultimate accomplishment in the downfal of the Papacy. Though I 
think that the character of this mystic sovereign corresponds much better with 
the infidel tyrant than the Pope, the interpretation of Vitringa is nevertheless 
important, as it shews his decided opinion, like that of the two Lowths, t© 
have been, that we must look beyond the literal king of Babylon for the com- 
plete fulfilment of the prediction. 

"Imperii vero Babylonici, ad quod Joannes in Apocalypsi alludit, qu® 
modo in hac prophetia describitur, hi sunt characteres. *. Est imperium 
magnum et vastum. /3. Cujus metropolis est urbs magna, ampla, splendida, 
regnorum decus, excellentia sua superbiens (Cap. xiii. 19.). y. Quae captivum 
tenet populum Dei olim et longum tempus liberum, cumque duro premit jugo 
Servitutis (Cap. xiv. 1, 2, 3, 4.) <T. Cui praeest Rex sive Reges violenti, tyranni 
crudeles, exactores, populis violenter et inclementer imperantes. (Cap. xiii. 
11. xiv. 6, 12.) i. Tanto fastu se supra human a omnia efferentes, ut se Be@ 
sequent, etsummamcum eo partiri gaudeant gloriam (Vs. 13, 14.), sedentes in 
templo Dei, tanquam Deus, et quidem ad latera Aquilonis. <f. Turbantes 
totum orbem, bellorumque inter gentes jacientes semina (Cap. xiv. 16.). 
jf. Qui Rex, complexe sumptus, vi tandem dejiciendus sit de throno imperii, 
et detrudendus ad inferos (Cap. xiv. 15). B. Cum admiratione omnium popu- 
lorum et gentium, quae crediderant imperium ejus fore aeternum (Cap. xiv. 6.). 
/. Abolita simul omni hujus imperii successione (Vs. 21, 22.). x. Interitu 
autem suo involvet plenarium excidium B^belis, ita destruendae, ut nunquam 
postea habitetur (Cap. xiii. 20, 21 xiv 23.) \. Cujus judicii administri essent 
maximam partem gentes truces, crudeles, bellicosae, Babeli septentrionales, 
non parsurae incolis Babelis (Cap. xiii 17.) [*. Effectus autem esset liberatie 
ecclesiae a jugo, quohactenus pressa fuerat,ej usque jubilum cum depraedica- 
tione divinae justitiae et gratiae (Cap. xiv. 1, 2.) Haec nunc applica, sodes, ad 
Romam, persecutricem sanctorum, etmysticos tanti imperii reges, et nullibi 
haerebis, exceptis iis, quorum implementum adhuc expectamus." Comment, 
in Jesaiam in loc. 

It is a remarkable circumstance, that, as the literal Babylon was destroyed 
fey the instrurrientality of nations which lay northward of it, so we have some 
reason to believe from prophecy that a great northern nation will be employed 
to punish the Roman Babylon while Antichrist is engaged in his expedition 
against Palestine. This point will be discussed hereafter, when 1 treat of the 
predictions of Daniel and St. John. 



85 

struction. " The regions of the dead are laid open, and 
Hades is represented as rousing up the shades of the de- 
parted monarchs. They rise from their thrones to meet 
the king of Babylon at his coming ; and insult him on his 
being reduced to the same low estate of impotence and 
dissolution with themselves. The image of the state of 
the dead, or the Infernum poeticum of the Hebrews, is 
taken from their custom of burying those at least of the 
higher rank, in large sepulchral vaults hewn in the rock. 
Of this kind of sepulchres there are remains at Jerusalem 
now extant ; and some that are said to be the sepulchres 
of the kings of Judah. You are to form to yourself the 
idea of an immense subterraneous vault, a vast gloomy 
cavern, all round the sides of which there are cells to re- 
ceive the dead bodies. Here the deceased monarchs lie 
in a distinguished sort of state, suitable to their former 
rank, each on his own couch, with his arms beside him, 
his sword at his head, and the bodies of his chiefs and 
companions round about him. These illustrious shades 
rise at once from their couches, as from their thrones ; 
and advance to the entrance of the cavern to meet the king 
of Babylon, and to receive him with insults on his fall. 

" I believe it may with truth be affirmed, that there 
is no poem of its kind extant in any language, in which 
the subject is so well laid out, and so happily conducted, 
with such a richness of invention, with such a variety of 
images, persons, and distinct actions, with such rapidity 
and ease of transition, in so small a compass, as in this 
ode of Isaiah. For beauty of disposition, strength of 
colouring, greatness of sentiment, brevity, perspicuity, 
and force of expression, it stands among all the monu- 
ments of antiquity unrivalled*." 

* See Bp. Lowth's elegant and classical elucidation of this ode, in the 
w»tes to this translatian of Isaiah. 



86 



PROPHECY VI. 

The dispersion of the Jews — The irruption of Antichrist at the 
time of their restoration — The character of some maritime na- 
tion destined to restore the converted Jews — The occupation of 
mount Zion by Antichrist— His invasion of Egypt — The state of 
Egypt at this period-— The religious connection of Assyria, Israel, 
and Egypt. 

Isaiah xvii. 1. The burden of Damascus. Behold, 
Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall 
be a ruinous heap. 2. The cities of Aroer are forsaken : 
they shall be for flocks which shall lie down, and none 
shall make them afraid. 3. The fortress also shall cease 
from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus and the 
remnant of Syria : they shall be as the glory of the chil- 
dren of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts. 4. For in that 
day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be 
made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean. 
5. And it shall be, as when the harvest man gathereth the 
corn, and his arm reapeth the ears ; and it shall be as he 
that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim. 6. Yet glean- 
ing grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive- 
tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost 
bough, four or five in the outmost branches of its fruit- 
fulness, saith the Lord God of Israel. 7. At that day 
shall each man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have 
respect to the Holy One of Israel. 8. And he shall not 
look unto the altars, the work of his hands ; and what his 
fingers made he shall not regard, even the groves, and the 
images. 9. In that day, the cities of his strength shall 
be as the leaving of a ploughed field* and a branch, 
which they have left before the face of the children of 
Israel : and there shall be desolation. 10. Because thou 

* The leaving of a ploughed field.'] I entirely agree with Mr. Parkhurst in 
this translation of the passage. The words contain a manifest allusion to 
the Mosaic laws relative to the not gleaning of their ploughed fields, vine- 
yards, and olive-yards, but leaving somewhat of the fruits for the poor of the 
land (Compare Levit. ix. 9, 10. andDeut. xxiv. 19—21. in the Hebrew). The 
idea here designed to be conveyed, is the same as that in Ver. 6. an idea of 
desolation so extreme, as to leave in the land nothing more than the bare 
gleanings of the people. See Parkhurst's Heb. Lex. Vox ttmrv 



87 

Jiast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and the rock oj'. 
thy strength thou hast not remembered ; therefore thou 
shalt plant desirable plants, and a twig as a stranger shalt 
thou sow it. 11. In the day thou shalt vehemently la- 
bour to make thy plant grow ; even in the early morning 
shalt thou cause thy seed to flourish : nevertheless the 
heap of the harvest- man shall be in a day of grief and 
heavy trouble. 

12. Ho ! multitude of many people ; as the tumultu- 
ous noise of the sea they roar tumultuously : and the ve- 
hement noise of the nations, as the noise of mighty wa- 
ters they vociferate ! 13. The nations shall roar indeed as 
the roaring of many w r aters : yet he shall rebuke them, and 
they shall flee far off ; and they shall be chased as the 
chaff of the mountains before the wind, and as a rolling 
thing before the whirlwind. 14. In the time of the even- 
ing, and behold destruction ! before morning, and they 
are not. This is the portion of them that trouble us, and 
the lot of them that spoil us. 

xviii. 1. Ho ! land spreading wide the shadow of thy 
wings*, which art beyond the rivers of Cush. 2. Accus- 
tomed to send messengers! by sea, even in bulrush ves- 
selsf , upon the surface of the waters ! Go, swift messen- 

* Shadow of thy wings.'] " The shadow of wings is a very usual image in 
prophetic language for the protection afforded by the stronger to the weak. God's 
protection of his servants is described by their being safe under the shadow 
of his wings. And, in this passage, the broad shadowing wings may be intend- 
ed to characterize some great people, who should be famous for the protec- 
tion they should give to those whom they received into their alliance ; and I 
cannot but think this the most simple and natural exposition of the expres- 
sion" (Bp. Horsley's Letter on Isaiah xviii.). It is not impossible however, 
and certainly not incongruous with the figurative language of prophecy, that, 
since the messengers described in this prediction are plainly a maritime na- 
tion, the shadowy wings here spoken of may mean the sails of their ships. In- 
deed the learned prelate, to whom I am so much, or rather so wholly, indebt- 
ed for all the succeeding remarks on this chapter, seems himself to allow, 
that something- like this may be insinuated in the imagery of the first verse. 

f Accustomed to send on ssengers.] "The form of the expression in the 
original signifies, not a single act of sending once, but the habit of sending per- 
petually. The word Q^yi may be taken for persons employed between nation 
and nation, for the purposes either of negociation or commerce." Letter on 
Isaiah xviii. 

t Bulrush vessels."] " This is a figurative expression; descriptive of skill 
in navigation, and of the safety and expedition with whjch the inhabitants of 
the land called to are supposed to perform distant voyages Navigable ves- 
sels are certainly meant. If the country spoken to be distant from Egypt, 
vessels of bulrush are only used as an apt image, on account of their levity, for 
quick mailing vessels of any material" Letter on Isaiah xviii. 



88 

gers, unto a nation dragged away and plucked, unto a 
people wonderful from their beginning hitherto, a nation 
expecting, expecting, and trampled under foot, whose land 
rivers have spoiled. 3. All the inhabitants of the world, 
and dwellers upon earth, shall see the lifting up, as it were, 
of a banner upon the mountains, and shall hear the sound- 
ing, as it were, of a trumpet. 4. For thus saith the Lord 
unto me : I will sit still (but I will keep my eye upon my 
prepared habitation), as the parching heat just before 
lightning, as the dewy cloud in the heat of harvest. 5. For 
afore the harvest, when the bud is coming to perfection, 
and the blossom is become a juicy berry, he will cut off 
the useless shoots with pruning hooks, and the bill shall 
take away the luxuriant branches. 6. They shall be left 
together to the bird of prey of the mountains, and to the 
beasts of the earth. And upon it shall the bird of prey 
summer, and all the beasts of the earth upon it shall win- 
ter. 7. At that season a present shall be led to the Lord 
of hosts, a people dragged away and plucked, even of a 
people wonderful from their beginning hitherto ; a nation 
expecting, expecting, and trampled under foot, whose 
land rivers have spoiled, unto the place of the name of 
the Lord of hosts, mount Sion. 

xix. 1. The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord 
rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh unto Egypt: 
and the idols of Egypt are moved at his presence, and 
the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. 2. And 
I will cover in tents * the Egyptians against the Egyp- 
tians : and they shall fight, every one against his brother, 
and every one against his neighbour ; city against city, 
and kingdom against kingdom. 3. And the spirit of 
Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof ; and I will destroy 
the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and 
to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, 
and to the wizards. 4. And the Egyptians will I give 

* I will cover in tents. ~] So I have ventured to render in323D> attributing- to 
the primitive the sense of one of its derivatives. The context shews, that 
it cannot mean I will protect. The Vulgate reads concurrere Jaciam ; the 
LXX, t7riytj>Bn(rov'TAi Atyv7rrtoi ztt* KiyvVTixs ; the Chaldee Paraphrast, concur- 
rere 'Jaciam; the Syriac, concitabo ,- and the Arabic, irruent JEgyptii in JEgyp- 
tios. All these convey the very same idea of the JEgyptians being in a state of 
civil %var with the Egyptian's. 



89 

over into the hand of cruel lords ; and a fierce king shall 
rule over them, saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts. 5. And 
the waters shall fail from the sea, even the river shall be 
wasted and dried up. 6. And the rivers shall be remov- 
ed away ; and the streams of defence shall be emptied 
and dried up : the reeds and flags shall wither. 7. The 
plants by the streams, by the mouth of the streams, and 
every thing sown by the streams, shall wither, be driven 
away, and be no more. 8. The fishers also shall mourn; 
even all they, that cast the hook into the streams, shall 
lament ; and they, that spread nets upon the waters, shall 
languish. 9. Moreover they that work in yellow flax, 
and they that weave nets*, shall be confounded. 10. And 
their toils f shall be broken, even all they that earn wa- 
ges J at the fish-pools. 11. Surely the princes of Zoan 
are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh § 
is become brutish : how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the 
son of the wise, the son of ancient kings ! 12. Where 
are thy wise men ? and let them tell thee now, and let 
them know what the Lord of hosts hath counselled against 
Egypt. 13. The princes of Zoan are become fools, the 
princes of Noph are deceived, and the corner stones of its 
tribes have seduced Egypt. 14. The Lord hath mingled 
a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caus- 
ed Egypt to stagger in all its works, as a drunken man 
staggereth in his vomit. 15. Neither shall there be any 
work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, 
may do. 16. In that day shall Egypt be like unto wo- 
men : and it shall be afraid and fear, because of the shak- 
ing of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh 
over it. 17. And the land of Judah shall be a terror un- 
to Egypt : every one, that maketh mention thereof, shall 
be afraid in himself; because of the counsel of the Lord 

* They that work in yellow flax, and they that weave nets.'] Bp. Lowth translates 
this passage, They that work the fine flax shall be cotifounded, and they that weave 
net-work. But the context seems to shew, that not fine flax fit for the pur- 
poses of weaving- ornamental net-work is here intended, but coarse flax for the 
making afflshing-nets. 

f Their toils."] So I render rvnna>- See Parkhurst's Heb. Lex. Vox m- 

+ Earn wages.] So I render -vaiy ipjj. 

§ The wise counsellors of Pharaoh.] Isaiah describes the future state oC 
Egypt in terms, strictly applicable only to his own times ; as, in verses 19, 
20, 21, he represents the worship of future times, according to the rites ami 
ceremonies of his own. 

12 



90 

of hosts, which he hath determined against it. 18. In 
that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the 
religious confession of Canaan, and swear to the Lord of 
hosts : one shall be called the city of Heres *. 19. In 
that day there shall be an altar to the Lord in the midst 
of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to 
the Lord. 20. And it shall be for a sign and for a wit- 
ness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt : for 
they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, 
and he shall send them a saviour and a great one, and he 
shall deliver them. 21. And the Lord shall be known 
tp Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that 
day, and shall minister sacrifice and oblation; yea, they 
shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it. 22. And 
the Lord shall smite Egypt ; he shall smite, and heal it : 
and they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be 
intreated of them, and shall heal them. 23. In that day 
there shall be a high-way out of Egypt to Assyria ; and 
the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into 
Assyria ; and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyri- 
ans. 24. In that day shall Israel be third with Egypt and 
with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land. 
25. Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed 
be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands* 
and Israel mine inheritance. 

COMMENTARY. 

I am inclined to consider these three chapters as form- 
ing jointly a single prophecy, and as containing only a 
more full and ample account of the matters foretold* in 
the former part of the preceding prophecy \. The order 
observed in both is nearly the same ; and both equally 
harmonize with the collateral prediction of Daniel J in 
closely connecting the fate of Egypt with the restoration 
of Judah. 

The prophecy now under consideration commences 
with matter not indeed immediately relating to the prin- 

* The city cf Heres. 1 Heres or Ares was an oriental name of the Sun. The 
city of Heres accordingly was called by the Greeks Heliopolis. See my 
Dissert, on the Cabin. Vol. i. p. 104. 

t Isaiah xi. 10—16. * Dan. si. 41, 42, 4S, 45. xii. I. 



91 

cipal subject of it, yet affording an opportunity of a suf- 
iiciently easy digression. "The burden of Damascus, open- 
ed at the beginning of the 17th chapter, naturally brings 
the prophet to speak of the subversion of the kingdom of 
Israel, in those days in alliance with the Syrians : and to 
be overthrown by the same enemy at the same time. 
The prediction of the subversion of the kingdom of Israel 
leads the prophet to warn the Jewish people in general of 
the judgments which await them, with manifest allusion 
in the llth verse, as Casaubon has observed, to the final 
dispersion of the nation by the Romans, And the allusion 
to this final dispersion leads, as it almost always does, to 
a prediction of the final restoration. ' This is delivered 
generally in the 12th, 13th, and 14th verses of the llth 
chapter* " 

In foretelling the dispersion of the Jews, and its various 
concomitant circumstances, Isaiah is wonderfully particu- 
lar. He declares, that they should be cut down and car- 
ried away from the country of their fathers, in the same 
manner as a husbandman reaps his corn and conveys it 
from the fields where it had grown ; and yet that a few 
stragglers, the wreck of a once mighty people, should re- 
main, like gleanings, in the landf — Great however as 

* Bp. Horsley's Letter on Isaiah xviii. p. 100. 

| The figures here used by the prophet are peculiarly apposite. The jfcivs 
should not only be cut down, as in the ordinary calamities of war ; but the 
whole nation should be utterly taken away from their own land, as a reaper 
gathers the ears of corn. Yet, notwithstanding 1 their general dispersion, a 
remnant should be left, strangers and pilgrims, in the land of their fathers, 
like the few grapes that remain at the gathering in of the vintage, or the few 
olive-berries that are overlooked in the season of making oil. As the pro- 
phecy was, such has been the event.' " When the emperor Adrian had sub- 
dued the rebellious Jews, he published an edict, forbidding them upon pain of 
death to set foot in Jerusalem, or even to approach the country round about 
it. Tertullian and Jerome say, that they were prohibited from entering into 
Judea. From that time to this their country hath been in the possession of 
foreign lords and masters, few of the Jews dwelling in it, and those only of 
a low servile condition. Benjamin of Tudela in Spain, a celebrated Jew of 
the 12th century, travelled into all parts to visit those of his own nation, and 
to learn an exact state of their affairs : and he hath reported, that Jerusalem 
was almost entirely abandoned by the Jews. He found there not above two 
hundred persons, who were for the most part dyers of wool, and who every 
year purchased the privilege of the monopoly of that trade. They lived all 
together under David's tower, and made there a very little figure. If Jeru- 
salem had so few Jews in it, the rest of the holy land was still more depopu- 
late. He found two ©f them in one city, twenty in another ; most whereof 
were dyers. In other places there were more persons ; but in upper Galilee, 
where the nation was in the greatest repute after the ruin of Jerusalem, he 



92 

their sins and their calamities should be, during the whole 
time of their dispersion they at least should keep them- 
selves from their former besetting crime, an infatuated 
attachment to the idolatrous vanities of the Gentiles *. 
Nevertheless their worship, though free from idolatry, 
should not be pleasing unto God. In consequence of 
their forgetting the God of their salvation, and disregard- 
ing the rock of their strength, their strong cities should 
be forsaken ; there should be a great desolation in the 
land ; and they themselves, while strangers in foreign 
countries, should be given up to the folly of painfully 
accumulating riches and never deriving any benefit from 
them f. 

Here " the prophet, by a sudden exclamation of sur- 
prize (ill rendered in our common English version Woe 
to J, gives notice, that a new scene suddenly breaks upon 
him. He sees the armies of Antichrist rushing on in the 
full tide of conquest, and pouring like a deluge over the 

found hardly any Jews at all. A very accurate and faithful traveller of our 
own nation (Sandys) who was himself also in the holy land, saith, that it is 
for the most part now inhabited by Moors and Arabians ; those possessing 
the vallies, and these the mountains. Turks there be few ; but many Greeks, 
with other Christians of all sects and nations, such as impute to the place an 
inherent holiness. Here be also some Jews : yet inherit they no part of the 
land, but in their own country do live as aliens." Bp. Newton's Dissert, viii. 

* It is almost superfluous to observe, that, during- the whole period of their 
present dispersion, the Jews have been as remarkable for their detestation of 
idolatry, as they were heretofore notoriously prone to it. Although some 
of them may have been constrained by the tortures of the inquisition to wor- 
ship the images of the Papists, force and the fear of death have alone com- 
pelled them to violate what they justly esteem the fundamental precept of 
the Law. Thus have prophecies, apparently contradictory to each other, 
been minutely fulfilled. Some declare, that the Jews should never, during 
their dispersion, relapse into idolatry ; others, that they should serve gods, 
the ivori of men's hands. Accordingly, they have never voluntarily and nation- 
ally become idolaters, since the destruction of their polity by the Romans ; 
although many individuals among them have been constrained by the Papists 
to bow down before the idols of the Latin church. Vide supra Commentary 
on Prophecy I. and infra on Prophecy XVII. 

\ The idea of the passage seems to be, that the Jevjs, in consequence of 
their rejecting the Messiah, should be judicially given up to the most sordid 
avarice. Ever labouring- to accumulate riches in foreign lands; rising early 
in the morning, and late taking rest, and eating the bread of carefulness ; they 
should still reap no harvest from their toil, but the day of their expected 
enjoyment should be a day of grief and heavy trouble. The various oppres- 
sions, which this sordid people (most unjustly no doubt) have suffered, are 
almost endless. "What frequent seizures have been made of their effects 
in almost all countries ! How often have they been fined and fleeced by 
almost all governments ! How often have they been forced to redeem their 
lives with what is almost as dear as their lives, their treasure ! Instances are 



93 

land of God's people *. He no sooner sees them, than 
he declares that God shall rebuke them ; that they shall 
flee with precipitation and in dismay ; and shall be chased, 
as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and as a 
rolling thing before the whirlwind f . Elated with this 
glorious scene the total rout of the apostate confederacy, 
he addresses his countrymen, in words of exultation and 
triumph : This is the portion of them that spoil us, and 
the lot of them that rob us%. 

" Having thus, in general terms, predicted the final 
success and happiness of his nation, he proceeds, in the 
18th chapter, to the description of visions, more parti- 
cularly declarative of the manner, and of the time, of their 
deliverance \." 

And first the vision of the armies of Antichrist, at the 
close of the 17th chapter, is succeeded by a vision of the 
people who are destined to take the lead in converting and 
restoring one great division ofJudah. Isaiah beholds their 
fleets rapidly approaching from far distant regions to Pa- 
lestine ; and describes them as possessing a powerful 
navy, as sailing with ease and expedition to remote parts 
of the world, and as being faithful worshippers of God : 
in short, they appear to be some great maritime nation, 

innumerable. We will only cite an historian of our own, who says thai 
Henry in. always polled the yews at every low ebb of his fortunes. One 
Abraham, who was found delinquent, was forced to pay 700 marks for his 
redemption. Aaron, another Jew, protested that the king- had taken from 
him at times, 30,000 marks of silver, besides 200 marks of gold, which he 
had presented to the queen. And in like manner he used many other of the 
yews. When they were banished in the reign of Edward i, their estates 
were confiscated, and immense sums thereby accrued to the crown." Bp. 
Newton's Dissert, vn. 

* Isaiah xvii. 12. f Ver. 13. 

+ Ver. 14. Bp. Lowth confines all the first part of this prophecy to the tak- 
ing of Damascus by Tiglath-Pileser, his overrunning a great part of Israel, and 
the conquest of that kingdom and the captivity of the people effected a few years 
after by Shalmaneser. Hence he is led to pronounce, that the three last verses 
of the 17th chapter have no relation to those which precede them, and have as 
little connection with what follows ; but that they are to be referred solely 
to the invasion unci overthrow of Sennacherib. But let only the first part of the 
prophecy be supposed to treat ultimately and indeed chiefly of the dipersion of 
the yews by the Romans, and we shall immediately perceive the close con- 
nection of the whole. From the dispersion of the yews, Isaiah rapidly passes 
to the overthrow of their last enemy Antichrist, and to their restoration by some 
great maritime power. In short, so far from these different predictions being; 
wholly unconnected, they appear to me to be inseparably connected. 

§ Bp. Horsley's Letter on Isaiah xviii. p. 100. 



94 

that shall possess the empire of the sea at the time when 
the 1260 years shall expire, and when the Jews shall be- 
gin to return into their own land. To this distant nation 
the prophet calls aloud, and summons them to receive 
their high commission from the Lord. 

Go, swift messengers, unto a nation long apparently 
forsaken by God; a nation dragged away from their own 
country, and plucked ; a nation wonderful from their be- 
ginning hitherto ; a nation perpetually expecting their 
promised Messiah, and yet trampled under foot ; a nation 
whose land the symbolical rivers of foreign invaders have 
for ages spoiled*. 

" We have now heard messengers summoned. We 
have heard a eommand given to them, to go swiftly with 
the message. We have heard the people described, to 
whom the message was to be carried. It might be ex- 
pected we should ne*:t hear the message given to the 
messengers in precise terms. But in prophecy, the cur- 
tain (if the expression may be allowed) is often suddenly 
dropped upon the action that is going on, before it is 
finished ; and the subject is continued in a shifted scene, 
as it were, of vision. This I take to be a natural conse- 
quence of the manner, in which futurity was represented, 
in emblematical pictures, to the imagination of the pro- 
phet : arid the breaks and transitions are more or less 
sudden, according to the natural turn of the writer's mind. 
In Isaiah, the transitions are remarkably sudden and bold ; 
and yet this suddenness and boldness of transition is sel- 
dom, I think, if ever, in him a cause of obscurity. In 
the present instance, the scene of messengers, sent upon a 
message, is suddenly closed with this second verse, before 
the messengers set out, before even the message is given 

V* " Go swift messengers : you, who by your skill in navigation and your ex- 
tensive commerce and alliances, are so qualified to be earners of a message 
to people in the remotest countries, go with. God's message unto a nation 
dragged away, to the dispersed Jews ; a nation dragged away from its proper 
seat, and plucked of its wealth and power ; a peopie wonderful from the be- 
ginning to this very time for the special providence, which has ever attended 
them and directed their fortunes; a nation still lingering in expectation of 
the Messiah, who so long since came and was rejected by them, and now is 
coming again in glory ; a nation universally trampled under foot ; whose 
land, rivers, armies of foreign invaders, the Assyrians, Babylonians, Syro- 
Macedonians, Romans, Saracens, and Turks, have overrun and depopulated." 
Letter on Isaiah xviii.S 



95 

to them. But the new objects, which are immediately 
brought in view, evidently represent, under the usual 
emblems of sacred prophecy, other parts of the same en- 
tire action ; and declare, with the greatest perspicuity, 
the purport, the season, and the effect, of the message. 
An ensign, or standard, is lifted up on the mountains — 
a trumpet is blown on the hills — the standard of the cross 
of Chiist — the trumpet of the Gospel*. The resort to 
the standard, the effect of the summons in the end, will 
be universal. A pruning of the vine shall take place, af- 
ter a long suspension of visible interpositions of Provi- 
dence t, just before the season of the gathering of the 
fruits. A vine, in the prophetic language, is an image of 
the church of God ; the branches of the vine are the 7nem- 
bers of the church ; and the useless shoots, and unfruitful 
luxuriant branches, are the insincere nominal members of 
the church. And the pruning of such shoots and branches 

* " The banner of the cross, to be lifted up more conspicuously than ever 
before ; the trumpet of the Gospel, to be sounded more loudly, than ever 
before, in the latter ages." Letter on Isaiah xviii. 

f " This verse (Isaiah xviii. 4.) represents along cessation of visible inter- 
positions of Providence, under the image of God's sitting still ; the stillness 
of that awful pause, under the image of that torpid state of the atmosphere 
in hot weather, when not a gleam of sunshine breaks for a moment through 
the sullen gloom ; not a breath stirs ; not a leaf wags ; not a blade of grass is 
shaken ; no ripling wave curls upon the sleeping surface of the waters ; the 
black ponderous cloud, covering the whole sky, seems to hang fixed and 
motionless as an arch of stone ; nature seems benumbed in all her operations 
The vigilance nevertheless of God's silent providence is represented under 
the image of his keeping his eye, while he thus sits still, upon his prepared 
habitation. The sudden eruption of judgment, threatened in the next verse, 
after this total cessation, just before the final call to Jew and Gentile, an- 
swers to the storms of thunder and lightning, which, in the suffocating heats 
of the latter end of summer, succeed that perfect stillness and stagnation of 
the atmosphere. And, as the natural thunder, at such seasons, is the wel- 
come harbinger of refreshing and copious showers ; so, it appears, the thun- 
der of God's judgments will usher in the long desired season of the consum- 
mation of mercy. So accurate is the allusion in all its parts." Letter on I«aial; 
xviii. 

It may here be observed, how exactly Scripture corresponds with Scrip- r 
ture. The long cessation of the visible interpositions of Providence has led 
the members of Antichrist to deny that such interpositions ever took place : 
yet in this very denial they have unwittingly accomplished the prophecies. 
In the last days were to arise scoffers, walking after their own lusts, con- 
temptuously asking where is the promise of God's coming, denying that the 
earth was ever overwhelmed by the deluge, and asserting that all things 
continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. The Lord how- 
ever hath already begun to shake both the political heavens and the political 
earth ; and, ere long perhaps, Infidelity may be constrained with unwilling 
eyes to behold the restoration of Israel amidst such, signs and wonders, as 
she can neither contradict nor oppose. 



of the vine is the excision of such hypocritical profes- 
sors, at least the separation of them from the church by 
God^s judgments. This verse therefore and the following 
clearly predict a judgment to fall upon the church for its 
purification, and the utter destruction of hypocritical pro- 
fessors of the truth*. The purification of the Christian 
church, by the awful visitations predicted in this passage, 
seems to be the proper preparative for the renewal of the 
call, to them that are near, the Jews ; and to them that 
are yet afar off, the Gentile tribes not yet converted. Im- 
mediately after this purgation of the church, at the very 
time when the bird of prey with all the beasts of the 
earth, Antichrist with his rebel rout, shall have fixed his 
seat between the seas, in the holy mountain|,(a present 
shall be brought to the Lord of hosts; the nation, described 
in ver. 2. as those to whom the swift messengers are sent, 
after their long infidelity, shall be brought as a present unto 
Jehovah. They shall be converted to an acknowledgment 
of the truth ; and they shall be brought to the place of 
the name of Jehovah, to mount Sion : they shall be set- 
tled in peace and prosperity, in the land of their original 
inheritance J. J 

" This then is the sum of this prophecy, and the sub- 
stance of the message, sent to the people dragged about 
and plucked. That in the latter ages, after a long sus- 
pension of the visible interpositions of Providence, God, 
who all the while regards that dwelling place which he 
never will abandon, and is at all times directing the events 
of the world to the accomplishment of his own purposes 
of wisdom and mercy ; immediately before the final 

* " God, in the latter ages, will purify his Churck with sore but whole- 
some judgments. Compare John xv. 1, 2." (Letter on Isaiah xviii.) These 
judgments will probably be the troubles occasioned by incessant war. 

j " It was a prevailing opinion among the early fathers, that Antichrist is 
to possess himself of the Holy Land, and that there he is to perish." (Let- 
ter on Isaiah xviii.) This opinion was manifestly founded on Dan. xi. 41, 45, 
.not to mention other parallel prophecies. 

C + " When the present offered consists of persons, the offered, as well as 
the offerers, must be worshippers. For to be offered is to be made a worship- 
per ; or, in some instances to be devoted to some particular service in which the 
general character of a worshipper is previously implied, both in the person who 
hath authority so to devote, and in the devoted, as in the instances of Jeph- 
thah's daughter and the child Samuel. The people therefore, brought as a 
present to Jehovah to mount Zion, will be brought thither in a converter- 
state." Letter on Isaiah xviii. \ 



97 

gathering of his elect from the four winds of heaven, wlH 
purify his church by such signal judgments, as shall rouse 
the attention of the whole world, and, in the end, strike 
all nations with religious awe. At this period, the apos- 
tate faction will occupy the holy land. This faction will 
certainly be an instrument of those judgments, by which 
the church will be purified. That purification therefore 
is not at all inconsistent with the seeming prosperity of 
the affairs of the atheistical confederacy. But, after such 
duration, as God shall see fit to allow to the plenitude of 
its power, the Jews, converted to the faith of Christ, will 
be unexpectedly restored to their ancient possessions. 
(The swift messengers will certainly have a considerable 
share, as instruments in the hand of God, in the restora- 
tion of the chosen people. Otherwise, to what purpose 
are they called upon (Ver. 1.) to receive their commis- 
sion from the prophet ? It will perhaps be some part of 
their business to afford the Jews the assistance and pro- 
tection of their fleets. This seems to be insinuated in 
the imagery of the first verse. But the principal part, 
they will have to act, will be that of the carriers of Gotfs 
message to his people!) This character seems to describe 
some Christian country, where the prophecies, relating 
to the latter ages, will meet with particular attention ; 
where the literal sense of those, which promise the re- 
storation of the Jewish people, will be strenuously up- 
held ; and where these will be so successfully expounded, 
as to be the principal means, by God's blessing, of remov- 
ing the veil from the hearts of the Israelites — 

" In what people of the earth, of the eastern or the 
western world, the characters of the messenger people may- 
be found, when the time shall come for the accomplish- 
ment of the prophecy, is hitherto uncertain in that de- 
gree, that we are hardly at liberty, in my judgment to 
conjecture. But I cannot but say, that it seems in the 
highest degree improbable, that the atheistical democracy 
of France should be the people, for whom the honour of 
that office is intended. The French democracy, from its 
infancy to the present moment, has been a conspicuous 
and principal branch at least of the western Antichrist. 
The messenger people is certainly to be a Christian peo- 
ple. For I think it cannot be doubted, that the messenger 



98 

people ■, and the leaders of the present to Jehovah to mount 
Sion, are the same people. And the act of leading a pre- 
sent to Jehovah to mount Sion must be an act of wor- 
shippers of Jehovah ; for it is an act of worship. They 
therefore who lead the present will be true worshippers, 
performing that service from religious motives. Those, 
who shall thus be instruments in this blessed work, may 
well be described, in the figured language of prophecy, 
as the carriers of God's message to his people. The si- 
tuation of the country; destined to so high an office, is 
not otherwise described in the prophecy, than by this cir- 
cumstance ; that it is to be beyond the rivers of Cush : 
that is, far to the west of Judea, if these rivers of Cush 
are to be understood, as they have been generally under- 
stood, of the Nile and other Ethiopian rivers ; far to the 
east, if of the Tigris and the Euphrates. The one, or 
the other, they must denote ; but which, is uncertain — 

" My notion of the prophet's geographical language is, 
that it is the language of the Phenician voyagers of his 
time. And, in those times, the most distant voyages be- 
ing made along the coasts, the Phenician mariners would 
speak of every place which lay to the west of the mouths 
of the Nile, as beyond the Nile, that is, in the poetical 
language of the prophet, beyond the rivers of Cush ; be- 
cause, keeping always along the coast, they would pass 
within sight of the mouth of the Nile, before they reached 
that western place. According to this nautical phraseo- 
logy of the voyagers of those times, the circumstance of 
being beyond the rivers of Cush was alike applicable to 
France, Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, Ireland, Den- 
mark, in short any part of Europe without the streights. 
Not more to any part of Europe, than to any part of 
Africa, without the streights. Not more to any part 
of Europe or Africa, than to the whole eastern coast of 
North and South America. The particular situation 
of the country therefore is by no means ascertained by this 
circumstance*." Yet, however indefinite the present 
prophecy may be in fixing the precise quarter of the 
globe where we are to look for the messenger people, 
others, which will be discussed hereafter in their proper 
place, give us sufficient reason to believe that they will 

* Letter on Isaiah xviii. 



99 

be some European nation. What European nation in- 
deed, is wholly uncertain ; but their character, as de- 
scribed by Isaiah, necessarily leads us to conclude, that 
they will be a maritime nation of faithful worshippers. 

The prophet has now foretold the chief matters rela- 
tive to the restoration of the converted Jews; such as their 
being opposed unsuccessfully by the army of Antichrist, 
and their being assisted in their return to their own coun- 
try by a great maritime nation of faithful worshippers : 
he proceeds therefore next to detail certain collateral 
events, which will be closely connected with their resto- 
ration. He had already foretold in a former prophecy*, 
that the Lord should smite with a drought the tongue of 
the Egyption sea, and that he should shake his hand over 
the great river of Assyria with a vehement wind ; in order 
that there might be a high- way for the remnant of his 
people, and that they might return, as they did of old out 
of the land of Egypt. He now enters more diffusely upon 
the subject, connecting it, as before, both with the ex- 
ploits of Antichrist, and with the restoration of the Jews. 
In a strain of awful sublimity, he represents the Almighty 
as riding upon a swift cloud, and as confounding the coun- 
sels of Egypt; as sowing discord among her governors, 
and as giving her over into the hand of cruel lords and a 
fierce king. The tyrant and his inferior lords, here des- 
cribed, I take to be Antichrist and his vassal kings, during 
the period of his temporary success. In a parallel prophecy 
of Daniel, his character is largely set forth : and it is inti- 
mated, that, at the epoch of the restoration of the Jews, 
the land of Egypt shall not escape him ; but that he shall 
have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and 
over all the precious things of Egypt ; and that the Liby- 
ans and Cushim shall be at his stepsf. Hence Isaiah, in 
perfect accordance with Daniel, predicts, that, at this 
very epoch, Egypt shall be delivered into the hand of a 
fierce king : for, that the conquest of Egypt by the fierce 
king is to be referred to this epoch, will be manifest to 
any one, who compares the language used by Isaiah in his 
former prophecy with that which he uses at the close of 
the present prophecy. In the former, he foretells, that 

• Isaiah xi. 15, 16. f Dan. xi. 41.— xii, 1. 



100 

there shall be a high- way for the remnant of his people 
that shall be left from Assyria : in the present, he simi- 
larly foretells, that, notwithstanding the success of the An- 
tichristian tyrant, God will deliver Egypt by the hand of 
a mighty Saviour, convert it to the profession of real re- 
ligion, and cause a high-way to be made between it and 
Assyria through the land of Israel, so that there shall be 
a free religious intercourse between the three countries. 
And this, according to both prophecies, is to be effected 
by the drying up of the mystical Nile ; and, according to 
the former prophecy, by the drying up both of the Eu- 
phrates and the Nile*. 

As for the manner in which Isaiah describes the reli- 
gious state of Egypt at the period when it will be invad- 
ed by Antichrist, he seems in this, as in other instances^ 
to exhibit it to us, rather according to what it was in his 
own days., than what it probably will be in the age of the 
accomplishment of the prophecy : yet it is worthy of no- 
tice, that the prophecy is not incapable of receiving even 
a literal accomplishment. By the intermixture of the cor- 
rupt Christians of the Greek church with the professors 
of Mohammedism, much idolatry still prevails in Egypt; 
which we cannot conceive to be more acceptable to God, 
than either its kindred papal idolatry, or the ancient pagan 
idolatry i and it is worthy of notice, that even some of the 
Mohammedans themselves, according to Niebuhr, are 
tainted with the superstitious veneration of images, which 
disgraces the worship of their Christian fellow- citizens J . 

* Let the reader compare together Isaiah xi. 15, 16, and Isaiah xix. 5, 23, 
24 ; and he must, I think, be convinced that both these predictions relate to 
the same events. In this case, since Isaiah xi. 15, 16, must plainly be refer- 
red to the era of the restoration of jfudah, the whole of Isaiah xix must like- 
wise be referred to the same era. The propriety of such a conclusion will be 
the more evident, if he further compare both these prophecies with Zechar. 
x. 10, 11, 12 ; which, like Isaiah xi. 15, 16, will clearly not be accomplished 
till the Jews are brought back into the land of their fathers. 

•j- Such an instance occurs indeed even in the course of the very prophecy 
concerning' which I am now treating. " And the Lord shall be known to 
Egypt ; and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do sa- 
crifice and oblation ; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform 
it." (Isaiah xix. 21.) Upon which Bp. Newton justly remarks, that "the 
prophet describes the worship of future times, according to the rites and ce- 
remonies of his own time." Dissert, xii. 3. 

* See Niebuhr's Travels, Vol. 1. pp. 35 , 47, 103, 195. In Skinner's Eccles* 
Hist, of Scotland, Vol. 11. p. 634—639, there is a curious account of an at 



10 1 

But I am more inclined to adopt the other interpretation 
of this part of the prophecy, and to suppose that Isaiah 
describes Egypt agreeably to what it was in his own age. 
The exhaustion of the river, which he dwells upon with 
so much minuteness, is plainly, according to the usual 
phraseology of Symbols, nothing more than the overthrow 
of the Egyptian government with its concomitants. These 
concomitants, as in the case of the exhaustion of the great 
river Euphrates under the sixth apocalyptic vial*, seem 
to be a diminution of the population of Egypt, and an emi- 
gration of its inhabitants ; for such is the most natural 
exposition that can be given of the drying up of its river, 
and the diversion of its streams into other channels. 

It is worthy of notice, that the population of Egypt has 
already begun to diminish, much in the same manner as 
the population of Turkey, which must, almost undoubt- 
edly I think, be considered as symbolized by the mysti- 
cal Euphrates of the sixth vial. 

" Alexandria," says Mr. Niebuhr, "has fallen by de- 
grees from its grandeur, population, and wealth — This 
city might be in a more flourishing condition, did not 
disadvantages of all sorts concur to depress it. Its inha- 
bitants appear to have a natural genius for commerce, 
were it not checked by the malignant influence of the 
government — The trade of Alexandria is notwithstand- 
ing very trifling; although almost all the nations of Egyptf 
have consuls herej — Ancient historians and geographers 
enumerate such a multitude of cities in Egypt, that it 
seems to be at present quite a desert in comparison with 
what it was in the day of antiquity. New cities have 
indeed arisen, but these are mere trifles, compared with 
the number, the extent, and the magnificence, of the 

tempt that was made, between the years 1716 and 1725, to effect an union 
between the non-juring' prelates and those of the Greek church. The at- 
tempt failed from the resolute adherence of the Orientals to image -worship 
and other superstitious vanities. 

* See my Dissert, on the 1260 years, Vol. 11. p. 345—349. (2d Edit. p. 
383 — 387.) 

| So the passage stands in my edition of Niebuhr, and therefore I have not 
ventured to alter it ; but for Egypt 1 think we ought surely to rend Europe. 
As this variation is not noticed in the errata, it is possible that this little mis- 
take (for so 1 cannot help considering- it) may be an uncorrected oversightof 
•the author himself. 

t Travels, Vol. i. p. 36,37. 



■ 102 

ancient. All the remains of monuments, referable to the 
most remote antiquity, bespeak the hand of a numerous 
and opulent people, who have entirely disappeared. When 
however we reflect on the revolutions which this country 
has undergone, and the length of time during which it 
has been under the dominion of strangers, we can no 
longer be surprized at the decline of its wealth and po- 
pulation. It has been successively subdued by the Per- 
sians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Arabians, and the 
Turks ; has enjoyed no interval of tranquillity and free- 
dom ; but has been constantly oppressed and pillaged by 
the lieutenants of a distant lord. Those usurpers and 
their servants, having no other views but to draw as large 
a revenue as possible from an opulent province, scarce 
left the people bare means of subsistence. Agriculture 
was ruined by the miseries of the husbandman ; and the 
cities decayed with its decline. Even at present, the 
population is decreasing ; and the peasant, although in a 
fertile country, is miserably poor : for the exactions of 
government and its officers leave him nothing to lay out 
in the improvement and culture of his lands ; while the 
cities are falling into ruins, because the same unhappy 
restraints render it impossible for the citizens to engage 
in any lucrative undertaking* — If an ancient origin and 
illustrious ancestors could confer merit, the Copts would 
be a highly estimable people. They are descended from 
the ancient Egyptians ; and the Turks, upon this account, 
call them, in derision, the posterity of Pharaoh. But 
their uncouth figure, their stupidity, ignorance, and 
wretchedness, do little credit to the sovereigns of ancient 
Egypt. They have lived for 2000 years under the do- 
minion of different foreign conquerors, and have experi- 
enced many vicissitudes of fortune. They have lost 
their manners, their language, their religion, and almost 
their existence. They are reduced to a small number 
in comparison to the Arabs, who have poured like a flood 
over this country. Of the diminution of the numbers 
of the Copts some idea may be formed from the reduc- 
tion of the number of their bishops. They were seventy 

* Travels, Vol. i. P. 51, 52. 



103 

in number, at the period of the Arabian conquest. They 
are now only twelve, and most of these settled in upper 
Egypt, to which the ancient inhabitants seem to have 
retired from the centre of the conquest *." 

The prophet declares in a most pointed manner, that, 
previous to the conquest of Egypt by the fierce king, it 
should be torn to pieces by internal dissention and civil 
discord. Here again we may, as it were with our own 
eyes, begin to see this prediction receive its accomplish- 
ment. " The Turks," says Mr. Niebuhr, " as is gene± 
rally known, conquered Egypt, in the beginning of the 
sixteenth century, from the Mamelukes ; a mercenary 
militia, who had, for some centuries, usurped the go- 
vernment of this province, which they administered by 
an elective chief, with the title of Sultan. This species 
of government seems still to subsist, just as much as be- 
fore the Turkish conquest ; and, with all their despotic 
pride, they have never attempted to change it. A form of 
government, that has prevailed so long, and which a 
haughty and powerful conqueror durst not abolish, must 
have within itself some principle of stability to maintain 
it against revolution. It might deserve to be better known 
and explained by some intelligent person, who should 
study it in a long residence in the country. A traveller 
like me, who has had only a transient view of these ob- 
jects, can neither discern nor describe all the parts of so 
complete a machine. I have learned enough however to 
enable me to distinguish, that this government is at pre- 
sent an aristocracy, partly civil, partly military, but chiefly 
military. Under the protection, rather than under the 
authority, of the Sultan of Constantinople, a divan, or 
sovereign council, exercises the supreme authority, both 
executive and legislative. Even the revenue of the Sul- 
tan is rather a tribute paid to a protector, than a tax levied 
by a sovereign — Such a government must be frequently 
disturbed by factious insurrections. Cairo is constantly 
convulsed by cruel dissention ; parties are continually 
jarring ; and the great retain troops to decide their differ- 
ences by force of arms. The mutual jealousies of the 

* Travels, Vol. 1. P. 103, 104. 



104 

chiefs seem to be the only causes, which still preserve to 
the Porte the shadow of authority over this country. The 
members of the aristocracy are all afraid of losing their 
influence under a residing sovereign ; and therefore agree 
in opposing the elvation of any of their own body to the 
supreme dignity. In our own days, All- Bey has found 
how difficult it is to ascend the throne of Egypt, or to 
maintan one's self upon it. The grand signior sends al- 
ways a pacha of three tails to exercise his precarious au- 
thority in Egypt, in the character of governor. But the 
pacha of Cairo, far from enjoying the same authority as 
the other pachas of the Turkish empire, is entirely de- 
pendent on the Egyptian divan. That aristocratical body, 
regarding the pacha as their tyrant, frequently depose 
hirn, unless he have the address to support himself by 
provoking and fomenting the contentions of the different 
parties, favouring each by turns. During my stay at 
Alexandria, the inhabitants of Cairo expelled their pacha. 
Mustapha pacha was at the same time ill Egypt, who had 
been already twice grand vizir, and rose afterwards a 
third time to that dignity. Having been sent by the Sul- 
tan to Djidda, he had remained in Egypt, on pretence of 
illness. The inhabitants chose Mustapha their pacha, 
and found means to oblige the Sultan, however dissatis- 
fied with the electors and the person whom they had 
elected, to confirm their choice. But the new pacha 
kept his place only seven months, and was then obliged 
to yield it to another from Constantinople. The latter 
died suddenly, upon the arrival of a Kapigi-Bachi, who 
was sent after him by the Sultan. Thus, in the short 
time while I was in Egypt, three governors succeeded 
each other rapidly in the government of that province* — 
In a city, like Cairo, inhabited by a number of petty 
tyrants, who are ever at variance among themselves, and 
seeking each other's ruin, and who often proceed to open 
violence in determining their quarrels, private persons 
can never consider themselves as in absolute security. 
The narrowness of the streets, and the crowds which 
are constantly pressing through them, are favourable to 

* Travels, Vol. i, P. 73— 76, 



105 

disorder. Yet fewer instances of robbery, theft, and 
murder, are heard of here than in the great cities of Eu- 
rope — The magistrates contribute to the public security 
by very prompt administration of justice — All the streets 
of Cairo have gates, which are shut at night ; but a por* 
ter waits to open to those, who can allege satisfactory 
reason for passing from one street to another, and ap- 
proach with a light in their hands. The man, for a 
small acknowledgment, opens the gate, but stops every 
suspected person. This regulation prevents nocturnal 
assemblies and tumults among the people. It at the 
same time so entirely separates the several quarters of 
the city, that the Beys often contend with open violence, 
while the other inhabitants know nothing of the matter* 
— The Bedouins, or wandering Arabs, being free, almost 
independent, and rather tributary allies than subjects of 
the Egyptian government, are the most remarkable branch 
of the nation. They are divided into tribes, governed by 
hereditary chiefs called Sehieehs, and these subordinate 
to a great Schiech, who has authority over several tribes. 
Upon paying a certain tribute to government, the Bedou- 
ins are permitted to feed their flocks through the rich 
pasturage grounds of Egypt. But they frequently abuse 
this permission, and pillage without distinction as well the 
husbandmen in the districts in which they encamp, as 
those travellers who have the misfortune to fall into their 
hands. They are ready too to take part in the dissen- 
tions, which frequently arise in this military republic. 
When government attempts to punish them or to con- 
strain them to their duty, they either defend themselves 
by force, or retire into the deserts till their misdemea- 
nours be forgotten f." 

Such is the government of Egypt ; a government, 
which evidently is impregnated, by the very nature of its 
constitution, with the seeds of eternal discord. Such 
were the effects, which naturally resulted from it in the 
year 1761, when Mr. Niebuhr had an opportunity of 
observing them. Such likewise were its effects at a yet 
later period, as manifested since the year 1798 in similar 

* Tf avels, Vol. i. p. 83—86 f Ibid p. 1Q& 

14 



106 

violent contentions among the rival Beys. And such, 
though in a much more violent degree, will, I doubt not, 
be its effects immediately before the final conquest of 
Egypt by the fierce king of Isaiah, or the wilful king of 
Daniel. 

It is highly worthy of notice, that, as we draw near to 
the time of the end and the accomplishment of those pro- 
phecies which relate to the restoration of the Jexvs, the 
attention of the great political world has been in a remaka- 
ble manner turned towards Palestine and Egypt. An at- 
tempt has been already made by Antichrist to establish 
himself in those regions : and it failed of success only, I 
believe, because it was prematurely undertaken. The 
following extract from an intercepted letter, written by r 
an Etat Major in Buonaparte's army, and dated Grand 
Cairo, July 28, 1798, sufficiently proves, that an estab- 
lishment in Egypt and Syria was the object of this ma- 
rauding expedition, with an ultimate view to the English 
settlements in India. " The government have turned their 
eyes towards Egypt and Syria ; countries, which, by their 
climate, goodness, and fertility of soil, may become the 
granaries of the French commerce, her magazine of 
abundance, and in course of time the depository of the 
riches of India. It is most indubitable, that, when pos- 
sessed of, and regularly organized in, these countries, we 
may throw our views still farther ; and, in the end, destroy 
the English commerce in the Indies, turn it to our own 
profit, and render ourselves the sovereigns also of that of 
Africa and Asia. All these considerations united have 
induced our government to attempt the expedition to 
Egypt. That part of the Roman power has been govern- 
ed, for many ages, by a species of men called Mamalucs, 
who have Beys at the head of each district. These deny 
the authority of the Grand Signior, governing themselves 
tyrannically and despotically a people and a country, 
which, in the hands of a polished nation, would become 
a source of wealth and profit*." The manner, in which 
this scheme was conducted, was by an attempt to sow 
discord between the Beys and the Egyptians ; the very 

r * Cited by Kett, Hist, the Interp. Vol. u. p. 268. 



107 

manner, in short, in which, we have reason to believe 
from prophecy, the yet future project of Antichrist will be 
conducted. The apostate miscreant, who then com- 
manded the French army, and who now disgraces the im- 
perial title, thus addressed by proclamation the natives of 
Egypt. " In the name of God, gracious and merciful. 
There is no God, but God ; he has no Son or associate 
in his kingdom. The present moment, which is destin- 
ed for the punishment of the Beys, has been long anxi- 
ously expected. The Beys, coming from the mountains 
of Georgia and Bajars, have desolated this beautiful coun- 
try. Buonaparte, the general of the French republic, ac- 
cording to the principles of liberty, is now arrived ; and 
the Almighty, the Lord of both worlds, has sealed the 
destruction of the Beys. Inhabitants of Egypt ! when 
the Beys tell you the French are come to destroy your 
religion, believe them not : it is an absolute falshood. 
Answer those deceivers, that they are only come to rescue 
the rights of the poor from the hands of their tyrants, and 
that the French adore the Supreme Being, and honour 
the Prophet and his holy Koran. All men are equal in 
the eyes of God: understanding, ingenuity, and science, 
alone make a difference between them : as the Beys there- 
fore do not possess any of these qualities, they cannot be 
worthy to govern the country — The Supreme Being, who 
is just and merciful towards all mankind, wills, that in 
future none of the inhabitants of Egypt shall be prevented 
from attaining to the first employments and the highest 
honours. The administration, which shall be conducted 
by persons of intelligence, talents, and foresight, will be 
productive of happiness and security. The tyranny and 
avarice of the Beys have laid waste Egypt, which was 
formerly so populous and well cultivated. The French 
are true Mussulmans — They have at all times been the 
true and sincere friends of the Ottoman Emperors, and 
the enemies of their enemies. May the empire of the 
Sultan therefore be eternal ; but may the Beys of Egypt, 
ouropposers, whose insatiable avarice has continually ex- 
cited disobedience and insubordination, be trodden in the 
dust and annihilated ! Our friendship shall be extended 
to those of the inhabitants of Egypt who shall join us, as 



108 

also to those who shall remain in their dwellings and ob- 
serve a strict neutrality, and when they have seen our 
conduct with their own eyes hasten to submit to us ; but 
the dreadful punishment of death awaits those, who shall 
take up arms for the Beys and against us. For them 
there shall be no deliverance, nor shall any trace of them 
remain — All the inhabitants of Egypt shall offer up thanks 
to the Supreme Being, and put up public prayers for the 
destruction of the Beys. May the Supreme God make 
the glory of the Sultan of the Ottomans eternal, pour 
forth his wrath on the Mamalucs, and render glorious the 
destiny of the Egyptian nation*.' ' 

This man, this tender respecter of the rights of na- 
tions and individuals, has since become Emperor of the 
French; and, yet more recently, like Charlemagne, the 
uncontrolled Emperor of the West. There is no reason 
to suppose, that success will render him less ambitious ; 
or that his conquests in Europe will induce him to give 
up his schemes against Palestine and Egypt. We may 
frequently observe a sort of undecided coincidence in the 
inspired writers, and in no instance perhaps more than in 
the present. It is predicted, that, at the time of the end, 
Antichrist and his vassals shall invade the East, and op- 
pose the return of the converted Jews ; but that some 
mighty maritime nation, evidently hostile to Antichrist, 
shall be the carriers of God's message to them, and the 
appointed instruments of bringing them as a present to the 
Lord of hosts. Now Joel styles the army of Antichrist 
the northern army\ ; by which, I think, we can only un- 
derstand, that to a person in the holy land it should ap- 
pear as coming from the north. Such being the case, the 
route of Antichrist will be through Greece and Asia 
Minor ; unless indeed, what is not very probable, we 
suppose him to circuit the Euxine. Accordingly Daniel 
represents his progress as being by land, and not by sea ; 
as being an expedition, in which he should enter into the 
countries and overflow and pass over, previous to his en- 
tering also into the glorious land, and previous to the land 
of Egypt not escaping him%. But why should this expe- 

* Cited by Rett, Hist, the Interp. Vol. n. p. 258—261 
| Joel ii. 20. *- Dan. xi. 40—45 



■ 



109 

dition be undertaken by land, rather than by sea ? The 
answer is afforded us by Isaiah, in the course of the pro- 
phecy now under consideration : a mighty maritime power 
shall be friendly to the converted Jews, and therefore hos- 
tile to Antichrist ; consequently the same fleets, which will 
assist in the restoration of the former, will be an effectual 
obstacle to any maritime expedition upon a large scale 
undertaken by the latter. It is worthy of notice, that, as 
the prophets exactly coincide with each other respecting 
the route of Antichrist being by land and not by sea, so 
the existing posture of affairs exactly coincides with the 
declarations of the prophets. In the first edition of my 
Dissertation on the 1260 days, I had not an opportunity 
of noticing the direful conclusion of the war between 
France and Austria ; a war undertaken with every rea- 
sonable human prospect of success, yet a war which has 
given to a foreign usurper the sceptre of Charlemagne : I 
could only then observe in general terms, that, without 
presuming to foretell its issue, the Christian could not 
reasonably doubt that the hand of God is now stretched 
forth over the earth in a peculiar and remarkable manner ; 
and that all things would assuredly work together to ful- 
fil those prophecies which yet remain unaccomplished, 
and to prepare a way for the last tremendous manifesta- 
tions of God's wrath*. The battle of Austerlitz has since 
decided the fate of the Roman Emperor\, and has opened 
to Buonaparte a free passage into the very heart of the 
Turkish dominions : nor can he surely be deemed guilty 
of any very great presumption, who is inclined to believe, 
that the late signal humiliation of Austria, and her con- 
strained cession to France of Istria, Friuli, and Dalmatia, 
serve only to pave the way for the last tremendous enter- 
prize of the infidel king. The downfal of the Ottoman 
empire, predicted under the sixth vial, is placed by St. 
John previous to the expedition of the beast and the false 
prophet into Palestine, and is apparently represented by 
him as being preparatory to it. What length of time in- 
deed may be occupied in the preparations for this cxpe- 

* Postscript to Preface, 1st Edit. 

f Subsequent to my writing- this, tlwe chief of the house of Austria has 
formally abdicated the title of Emperor of the Romans, and has been constrain- 
ed to dissolve officially the Germanic constitution. August. 1806. 



110 - 

dition, the Apostle does not determine ; that a considera- 
ble length of time will be necessary for the complete or- 
ganization of the great confederacy, seems only reasona- 
ble to imagine ; but that the fall of the Ottoman empire 
will pave the way for it, appears to be almost asserted by 
St. John. 

The tenor both of the present and the preceding pro- 
phecy necessarily leads us to conclude, that, at the period 
of their accomplishment, the Jews will abound in the land 
of Egypt. Mr. Niebuhr accordingly informs us, that 
" the Jews are the most numerous class in Ciaro, next 
after the Mohammedans and the Copts. Some Phari- 
sees or Talmudists reside here, as well as Karaites ; who, 
though not numerous, have a synagogue of their own. 
The Talmudists are numerous and powerful. They 
have long farmed all the customs ; an undertaking, which 
brings them both wealth and credit. In the republican 
government of Egypt they find it easier to gain steady 
protectors, than in the other provinces of Turkey, where 
all depends upon the caprice of a Pacha who knows not 
how soon he may lose his place, or of the superintendant 
of the customs who resides in Constantinople. One 
proof of the consequence, which the Jews enjoy under 
the aristocracy of Cairo, is, that the offices of the cus- 
toms are shut upon their sabbath, and no goods can pass 
on that day, although belonging to Christians or Mus- 
sulmans*." 

The prophet, having now foretold the temporary cala- 
mities which the Egyptians should experience from the 
invasion of Antichrist, proceeds to announce their conver- 
sion to genuine Christianity. In the midst of their trou- 
bles, when they cry unto the Lord because of their op- 
pressors, he shall send them a Saviour and a Great One, 
and he shall deliver them. In consequence of this happy 
change in their circumstances, the Lord shall be known 
to Egypt ; and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that 
day, and shall minister sacrifice and oblation : Assyria 
likewise shall partake of the blessing, and join with Israel 
and Egypt in praising God. Now, since this knowledge 
vfthe Lord is the evident result of a Saviour and a Great 

* Travels, Vol. i. p. 102. 



Ill 

One being sent to the Egyptians, I know not what person 
we can reasonably understand by the Saviour, except 
the Messiah. 

What precise five cities are alluded to, as adopting the 
religious confession of Canaan, and as swearing by the 
Lord of hosts, can only be satisfactorily determined by 
the event. The most natural explanation seems to be, 
that the five principal cities of Egypt are considered as 
including ail the rest ; and that this phraseology is only a 
varied method of declaring, what the prophet in the 
course of the same prediction more explicitly declares, 
that the whole land of Egypt should be converted to the 
profession of the true faith. It perhaps may not be 
altogether unworthy of notice, that D' Anville, in his map of 
Egypt, assigns to the Delta precisely five principal cities, 
the names of which he writes in capitals : Alexandria^ 
Rashid, Damiat, Fouah, and Mahalle Kebir. He likewise 
divides the Delta into exactly five provinces : Bahire, 
Garbie, Dakelie, Sharkie, and Menufie. As for Cairo, 
it is situated at the head of the Delta, somewhat higher 
than the grand division of the Nile. In one of these pro- 
vinces stood, I believe, the ancient Heliopolis, or -city of 
the Sun *. 

At the conclusion of the present prophecy, Isaiah pre- 
dicts, as he had already done at the conclusion of his 
former prophecy, that there should be a close intercourse 
and religious connection between Assyria, Israel, and 
Egypt. They should be united together, as the differ- 
ent parts of a single kingdom are, by a common high- 
way ; and they should jointly experience the benefit of 
being the blessed of the Lord of hosts f- 

In the interpretation, which I have here given of the 
19th chapter of Isaiah, I am conscious that I have most 
materially differed from Bp. Newton and his precursor 
Vitringa f. The Bishop conceives, that the cruel lords 
and the fierce Icing primarily mean Nebuchadnezzar and 
the Babylonians ; but principally Cambyses, Ochus, and 

* See the Map prefixed to the report of Citizen Ripaiul. 
f Compare Isaiah xi. 15, 16. with xix. 5, 23, 24, 25. 
i Ep. Lowth follows Bp. Newton in his opinion respecting' the accomplish- 
ment of this prophecy. 



112 

the Persians : that what is said, respecting the exhaus- 
tion and diversion of the river, alludes to the consequences 
of the subjection and slavery to which Egypt was reduc- 
ed by the Persians, her poverty and want, her mourning 
and lamentation, her ' confusion and misery: that the 
saviour and the mighty one, who delivered the Egyptians, 
is Alexander the great* ; that their conversion is the par- 
tial diffusion of religious knowledge by the instrumentality 
of the Jews, who are thence represented as the medium 
of religious connection between Egypt and Assyria : that 
the five cities were Heliopolis, mentioned by the prophet 
himself, and four others spoken of by Jeremiah as being 
the places of the residence of the Jews ; namely, Migdol, 
Tahpanhes, Noph, and some other in the country of 
Pathros, the name of which is not particularized : and 
that the building of the altar in the midst of the land of 
Egypt alludes to the building of a Jewish temple by Onias 
in the prefecture of Heliopolis '\. 

The whole of this interpretation appears to me to fall 
very far short of the most natural and obvious meaning 
of the original. The immediate connection of the 19th 
chapter with its two predecessors certainly leads one pri- 
ma facie to conclude, that its subject is the same : because 
we find Egypt and Assyria similarly, almost indeed in 
the very same words, connected with the restoration of 
the Jews by Isaiah himself in his ll//z chapter ; because 
Zechariah again, still almost in the same words, unites the 
restoration of Israel with (he fates of Egypt and Assy ria\ ; 
and because Daniel exactly in the same manner predicts, 
that at the era of the restoration of the Jews Egypt should 
be conquered by Antichrist^ But, if the 19 th chapter of 
Isaiah be connected with the restoration, as the general 
harmony of prophecy seems to require, and as its situa- 
tion immediately after the 17th and 18th chapters natur- 
ally suggests, I know not now it can have any relation to 
events long since past. What the Bishop says respecting 

* His Lordship seems to think, that not only Alexander may be intended 
fcy the Saviour and the great one, but also his immediate successor in Egypt, 
"Ptolemy, who like himself was styled the great, and Ptolemy Soter or the Sa-* 
notour. This play upon words would have better become a less grave com 
*nentator than the excellent Newton. t Dissert sir. 

-t Zechar. x. 10—12, § Dan, xi, 42, 43, xii. 1. 



the exhaustion of the river seems scarcely allowable on 
the common principles of symbolical interpretation. If 
the Nile is here to be understood figuratively, the drying 
up and diversion of its streams can with difficulty be con- 
ceived to mean the introduction of poverty, lamentation, 
and confusion, among the Egyptians : it would rather typi- 
fy, as I have already stated, the subversion of their polity 
and their gradual depopulation and emigration. As for the 
Saviour and the great one, the evident connection, in 
which that person is placed with a general diffusion of 
real religion throughout Egypt, will not allow us, with- 
out a singular degree of harshness, to suppose him to be 
Alexander the great. Whatever increase of religion there 
might be in Egypt during his reign and those of his suc- 
cessors, the Egyptians, as a nation, were undoubtedly 
idolaters. The same remark applies with equal force to 
the Assyrians. Hence I cannot but think the introduc- 
tion of comparatively a few Jews into those countries a 
most imperfect and unsatisfactory solution of the predict* 
cd religious unity of Egypt, Israel, and Assyria. Is it 
reasonable to believe, that the Lord of hosts would esteem 
Israel the third with Egypt and Assyria, even a blessing 
in the midst of the land ; and that he should be repre- 
sented as saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assy- 
ria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance ; 
merely because Nebuchadnezzar carried the Jews captive 
to Babylon, and because many of the same people had 
emigrated to Egypt in the days of Alexander and the 
Ptolemies ? How then will our doubt respecting the pro- 
priety of this interpretation be increased, when we find 
Bp. Newton himself confessing, that the Egyptian Jews 
" were generally very wicked men, and disobedient to the 
word of the Lord, and that upon that account the prophet 
Jeremiah denounced the heaviest judgments against 
them." His Lordship adds indeed, as if with a view to 
anticipate the objection which so naturally arises out of 
his own statement, that " some good men might be ming- 
led among them, who might open his prophecies to the 
Egyptians, and they themselves when they saw them ful- 
filled might embrace the Jewish religion." But in the 
case of a prophecy, which is said to be already accom- 
15 



- 114 

plished, we can scarcely allow a series of conjectures to 
be a sufficient exposition. After all, even granting the 
conjectures to be well-founded, still the exposition will 
be incomplete. Isaiah manifestly speaks of a general con- 
version of the whole land of Egypt, and that not merely 
to nominal but to real religion : hence, when he peculi- 
arly mentions Jive cities, we must not understand him as 
contradicting and limiting the rest of his prediction, but 
simply as alluding to five principal cities which he consi- 
ders as subincluding all the rest*. But Bp. Newton m 
a great measure confines the conversion to the Jive cities; 
and even in those Jive cities to a part only of their inha- 
bitants, the Jews and their Egyptian proselytes. Onias 
might very possibly suppose the prophecy to have been 
accomplished in his day ; or rather, with a view to what 
he conceived would be the accomplishment of it, he might 
allege this very prophecy to the king and queen of Egypt, 
in order to induce them to permit him to build a temple 
to God in the prefecture of Heliopolis, or the city of the 
Sun : yet, although he succeeded in his plan, it is not 
thereby so much proved that the prediction was then re- 
ally accomplished, as that he was willing to believe it to 
have been then accomplished!. In fine, Bp. Newton 
himself does not seem perfectly satisfied with his own 
interpretation : he allows, that the prophecy will be more 
amply fulfilled hereafter. " Thus," says he, " by the 
means of the Jews and proselytes dwelling in Egypt and 
Syria, Israel, Egypt and Syria were in some measure 
united in the same worship. But this was more fully ac- 
complished, when these countries became Christian, and 
so were made members of the same body in Christ Jesus. 
And we piously hope and believe, that it will still receive 
its most perfect completion in the latter days, when Mo- 
hammedism shall be rooted out and Christianity shall 
again flourish in these countries, when the fulness of the 
Gentiles shall come in and all Israel shall be saved." To 
this last event, I, on the contrary, cannot refrain from 

* Compare Isaiah xix. 18. with ver. 21 — 25. 

f Bp. Lowth, although he adopts in the main Bp. Newton's interpretation 
of this prophecy, objects much in the same manner with myself to the appli 
cation of that part of it, which speaks of the city of the mn % to Onias. 



HS 

thinking that the prophecy ought to be altogether con- 
fined, for reasons which have already been sufficiently 
stated. 



PROPHECY VII. 

The dispersion of the Jews — Their restoration from the west — 
The lamentation of Judah on account of the treachery of Anti- 
christ — His restoration in the midst of great political troubles — 
The overthrow of Antichrist — The triumph of the restored Jews 
— -The certainty of their restoration and of the overthrow of Anti- 
christ — The exhaustion of the Euphrates and the Nile. 

Isaiah xxiv. 1. Behold, the Lord maketh the land 
empty, and layeth it waste, and turneth it upside down, 
and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. 2. And 
it .shall be, as with the people, so with the priest ; as with 
the servant, so with his master ; as with the maid, so with 
her mistress ; as with the buyer, so with the seller ; as 
with the lender, so with the borrower ; as with the taker 
of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. 3. The 
land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled : for the 
Lord hath spoken this word. 4. The land mourneth, 
and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, 
the haughty people of the land do languish. 5. The 
land also is defiled beneath the inhabitants thereof : be- 
cause they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordi- 
nance, broken the everlasting covenant ; 6. Therefore 
hath a curse devoured the land, and they that dwell there- 
in are desolate ; therefore the inhabitants of the land are 
burned, and few men left. 7. The new wine mourneth, the 
vine languisheth, all the merry-hearted do sigh. 8. The 
mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice 
endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. 9. They shall not 
drink wine with a song ; strong drink shall be bitter to 
them that drink it. 10. The city is broken down ; it is 
become a confused heap ; every house is shut up, so that 
no man may come in. 11. There is a crying for wine 
in the streets ; all joy is darkened ; the mirth of the land 
is gone. 12. In the city is left desolation ; and the gate 



116 

is smitten with destruction. 13. For thus it shall be in 
the inmost parts of the land, in the midst of the people ; 
it shall be as the gleaning of an olive tree, as the strag- 
gling grapes that remain when the vintage is done. 

14. Yet they shall lift up their voice ; they shall exult 
in the majesty of the Lord ; they shall shout from the 
sea*. 15. Wherefore glorify ye the Lord by Urim, 
the name of the Lord God of Israel in the isles of the 
sea. 16. From the uttermost parts of the earth j- have 
we heard songs, even glory to the righteous one. But 
I said, My leanness, my leanness, wo unto me ! the 
treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously ; yea, the 
treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously. 

17. Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, 
O inhabitant of the earth. 18. And it shall come to pass, 
that he, who fleeth from the noise of the fear, shall fall 
into the pit ; and he, that cometh up out of the midst of 
the pit, shall be taken in the snare : for the fissures on 
high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. 
19. The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean 
dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. 20. The 
earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be 
removed like a cottage ; and the transgression thereof 
shall be heavy upon it ; and it shall fall, and not rise 
again. 

21. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the 
Lord shall send his visitation upon the host of the high 

* They shall shout from the sea.'] " Or from the isles of the sea, as it is ex- 
pressed in the following- verse ; i. e. from the isles of the western or medi- 
terranean sea, whither many of the Jews were scattered, and from whence 
they should return into their own country in the latter days. The Hebrew 
word Ijatn signifies the West as well as the sea, because the mediterranean 
sea lay westward of JuoI^t. : and so the word is rendered by some interpre- 
ters here. This verse is to be understood of the final restoration of the Jews.'' 
Mr. Lowth in loc. 

f From the uttermost parts of the eartlu~] " From the uttermost parts of the 
earth means the same zsfrom the isles of the sea in the foregoing- verses : from 
these utmost regions have we heard the joyful acknowledgment of the righ- 
teous, praising God for their deliverance and for all the glorious things he 
Jiath done for them, making them thereby remarkable in the eyes of the world, 
as his favourites-*— We may observe, that the word Tsebi is often taken for 
Judea, as being the glory of all lands — And, if we take the word in this sense, 
the meaning of the place will be, That the substance of their hymns was, 
that now the promised land should be restored to the righteous seed of Abra- 
ham. Which confirms the interpretation given of ver. 14, that the context 
relates to the final restoration of the yetusP Mr. Lowth in loc. 



117 

one on high, and upon the kings of the earth on the earth. 
22. And they shall be gathered together as prisoners arc 
gathered into the vault of a dungeon, and they shall be 
shut up in prison, and after many days shall they be 
visited. 23. Then the moon shall be confounded, and 
the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in 
mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients 
gloriously. 

xxv. 1. O Lord, thou art my God ; I will exalt thee, 
I will praise thy name : for thou hast done wonderful 
things : thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. 
2. For thou hast made of a city, an heap ; of a defenccd 
city, a ruin ; the tower of strangers, to be no city : it shall 
never be built. 3. Therefore shall the strong people 
glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee. 
4. For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength 
to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a 
shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones 
was as a storm against the wall, 5. As heat in a dry 
place, thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers ; as 
heat in the shadow of a cloud, the branch of the terrible 
ones shall he humbled. 

6. And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make 
unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on 
the lees ; of fat things full of marrow, of wine on the lees 
well refined. 7. And he will entirely remove in this 
mountain the face of the covering that is cast over all the 
peoples, and the veil that is spread over all the nations. 
8. He will swallow up death in victory ; and the Lord 
God will wipe away tears from off all faces ; and the 
reproach of his people shall he take away from off all the 
earth : for the Lord hath spoken it. 9. And it shall be 
said in that day, Lo, this is our God ; we have waited 
for him, and he will save us : this is the Lord ; we have 
waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salva 
tion. 10. For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord 
rest ; and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even 
as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. 11. And 
he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as 
he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim : and 
he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of 



118 

their hands. 12. And the fortress of the high fort of thy 
walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the 
ground, even to the dust. 

xxvi. 1. In that day this song shall be sung: In the 
land of Judah we have a strong city ; salvation shall he 
appoint for walls and bulwarks. 2. Open ye the gates, 
that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may 
enter in. 3. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose 
mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. 
4. Trust ye in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord Jehovah 
is everlasting strength, 5. For he bringeth down them 
that dwell on high ; the lofty city, he layeth it low * ; he 
layeth it low, even to the ground •; he bringeth it even to 
the dust. 6. The foot shall tread it down ; even the 
feet of the needy t? and the steps of the poor. 7. The 
way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost 
weigh the path of the just. 8. Yea, in the way of thy 
judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee : the desire 
of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of 
thee. 9. With my soul have I desired thee in the night ; 
yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early : for., 
when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of 
the world will learn righteousness. 10. Let favour be 
shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness : 
in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not 
behold the majesty of the Lord. 11. Lord, thy hand is lift- 
ed up, but they see not : yet they shall see, and shall be 
ashamed for their envy at the people ; yea thine enemies, 
fire shall devour them. 12. Lord, thou wilt ordain peace 
for us ; for thou hast also wrought all our works for us. 

* The lofty city, he layeth it low.'] " As the Church is styled the city ofGod, 
so the society of infidels or enemies to God's truth is represented by the like 
similitude of a city, and typified under the figures of Sodom, Babylon, and that 
Jerusalem which killed the prophets. And this sense I think best agrees 
with the scope of the place, and with the parallel texts, chap. xxv. 2, 12 ; in 
neither of which places can the expression be understood of any one particu- 
lar city." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

f The feet nf the needy.] " If we understand the words of that last and 
great triumph of the Church over Antichrist and all its enemies (as many of 
the expressions in this and the "former chapter look that way), we may fitly 
explain the poor and needy here to be those who shall escape out of the great 
tribulation which shall precede those times, mentioned Dan. xii. 1." (Mr. 
Lowth in loc.) Those however, who are mentioned in Dan. xii. 1, are plainly 
the restored Jews : and I conceive them to be likewise intended in thepreseiit 
passage. 



119 

13. O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had do- 
minion over us : but by thee only will we make mention of 
thy name. 14. Dead, they shall not live ; utterly dead, they 
shall not rise again ; because thou hast visited and destroy- 
ed them, and wilt cause every memorial of them to perish. 
15. Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, thou hast 
increased the nation : thou art glorified ; thou hast extend- 
ed far all the borders of the land. 16. Lord, in trouble 
they have visited thee, they have poured out a prayer ; 
thy chastening was upon them. 17. As a woman with 
child draweth near to the time of her delivery, is pained, 
crieth out in her pangs ; so have we been in thy sight, 
O Lord. 18. We have been with child, we have been 
in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind : deliver- 
ance we have not wrought in the earth, and the inhabi- 
tants of the world have not fallen. 

19. Thy dead shall live, my dead bodies shall arise*. 
Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust : for thy dew 
is the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. 
20. Come, my people ; enter into thy chambers, and shut 
thy doors about theef ' hide thyself as it were for a lit- 
tle moment, until the indignation be overpast. 21. For, 
behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to visit the ini- 

* Thy dead shall live, my dead bodies shall arise."] In the language of sym- 
bols, death, when a nation is spoken of, means political exti?iction ; and revi- 
viscence, a restoration to political life. " Mori ea notione dicitur, qui in quo- 
cunque statu constitutus, sive politic©, sive ecclesiastico, seu quovis alio, de- 
sinit esse quo£ fuit ; unde et occidit qui tali morte quemquam afficit." (Mede's 
Comment. Apoc. in Myst. duor. Test. p. 484.). The same imagery is used by 
Ezekiel ; only, to heighten the painting, and to shew the great length of time 
during which the Israelites would lie dead as a nation, he represents them 
as being not merely a collection of dead bodies, but a heap of dry bones 
(Ezek. xxxvii. 1 — 14.). St. John likewise describes the suppression of pro- 
testantism in Germany in the time of Charles V, under the same allegory 
(Rev. xi. 7 — 11.). "It appears from hence," observes Bp. Lowth very justly, 
•' that the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead was at that time a popular 
and common doctrine : for an image, which is assumed in order to express 
or represent any thing in the way of allegory or metaphor, must be an image- 
commonly known and understood j otherwise it would not answer the pur- 
pose for which it was assumed." Bp. Lowth's Isaiah in loc. See also Mr. 
Lowth in loc. 

j Shut thy doors about thee.~\ (( The words are an allusion to that command 
given to the Israelites in Egypt, not to go out of the door of their houses till 
morning, when the destroying angel was to pass through the land of Egypt. 
So here God promises to be a hiding-place to his people in the midst of those 
terrible judgments which should destroy his adversaries. This probably may 
be meant of those days of extraordinary trouble at the end of thQ world, spo- 
ken of in Dan. xii. 1. and Matt. xxiv. 21." Mr. Lowth in loc. 



120 

quity of the inhabitants of the earth upon them : the 
earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more co- 
ver her slain. 

xxvii. 1 *. In that day, the Lord, with his well-tem- 
pered and great and strong sword, shall punish Leviathan 
the serpent that darteth rapidly along, even Leviathan the 
winding serpent ; he shall even slay the monster that is 
in the sea. 

2. In that day, to the beloved vineyard sing ye a res- 
ponsive songt- 

3. Jehovah. It is I, the Lord, that preserve her : I 
will water her every moment ; I will take care of her by 
night ; and by day I will keep guard over her. 

4. Vineyard. I have no wall for my defence : O 
that I had a fence of the thorn and brier ! 

J. Against them should I march in battle, I should 
burn them up together. 5. Ah ! let her rather take hold 
of my protection. 

V. Let him make peace with me ! peace let him make 
with me ! 

6. J. They that come from the root of Jacob shall 
flourish, Israel shall bud forth ; and they shall fill the face 
of the earth with fruit. 

7. Hath he smitten him, as he smiteth those that smote 
him ? Hath he slain him, as he slayeth those that slew 
him ? 8. In just measure, when thou inflictest the stroke, 
wilt thou debate with her : he will deeply deliberate, even 
in the midst of 'his violent blast, in the day of the east- 
wind. 9. Wherefore by this shall the iniquity of Jacob 
be purged ; and this shall take away all the fruit of his 
sin ; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as stones 
of rubbish beaten to pieces, when the groves and images 
rise up no more. 

* " This chapter treats of the same subject with the two former, and des- 
cribes that happy state of the Church, when Satan and his agents shall be 
subdued, the Church shall be enlarged and purged from idolatry, and the 
Jews shall be restored ; all which are circumstances attending those glori- 
ous days, which the prophets often foretell shall come to pass at or near the 
end of the world." Mr. Lowthin loc. 

f A responsive song.'] " That rup to answer" says Bp. Lowth, " signifies 
occasionally to sing responsively, and that this mode of singing was frequent- 
ly practised among the ancient Jews, see De Sacra Poesi Heb. Prsi. six. at- 
the beginning.'* 



121 

10. At the time when the defenced city shall be deso- 
late, the habitation forsaken and left like a wilderness ; 
when the calf feedeth there, and lieth down there, and 
consumeth the branches thereof ; 11. When women break 
off the branches thereof as soon as they are withered, 
coming and setting them on fire (for it is a people of no 
understanding ; therefore their Maker doth not love 
them, neither doth he who formed them shew himself 
gracious unto them) : 12. In that day it shall come to 
pass, that the Lord will beat as with a threshing instru- 
ment * from the stream of the river unto the river of 
Egypt ; and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye chil- 
dren of Israel : 13. Even in that day it shall come to 
pass, that it shall be blown with the great trumpet f, and 
they that were lost in the land of Assyria, and they that 
were thrust into the land of Egypt, shall come, and shall 
worship the Lord, in the holy mount, in Jerusalem. 

COMMENTARY. 

These chapters, like those which were last considered, 
form one continued prophecy, treating of the very same 
subjects, and occasionally in almost the very same words. 

Isaiah begins with predicting, in terms studiously mi- 
nute, the dispersion of the Jews and the desolation of their 
country. He asserts, that all these judgments should 
come upon them, because they have transgressed the laws 
of God, changed the ordinance, and broken the everlast- 
ing covenant, even the covenant of the Messiah. Yet, as 
he had already foretold J, so he now repeats it, that, not- 
withstanding the general dispersion, a few stragglers 
should remain in the land, like the gleanings of a vine or 
an olive-tree. 

In the midst however of this desolation, they should, 
in God's appointed season, break forth into songs of praise, 

* The £ordwill beat us as with a threshing instrument."] "This relates to the 
restoration of the Jews in the latter times.'* Mr. Lowth in loc. 

f It shall be blown with the great trumpet'] " A general alarm or summons 
shall be given. Compare Matt. xxiv. 31, which place some understand of this 
very restoration of the Jews the prophet here speaks of." (Mr. Lowth in loc). 
Compare also Isaiah xviii. 3. The sounding of the trumpet most probably de* 
notes, as Bp. Horsley thinks, the general preaching of the Gospel 

* Isaiah xvii. 6. 

16 



122 

and shout from the sea ; they should glorify the Lord, as 
in old times, by Urim and Thummim*, and should mag- 
nify his name in the isles of the sea ; insomuch that songs 
should be heard from the uttermost parts of the earth, 
even glory to that righteous one whom they had so long 
rejected. 

The prophet here seems to allude to the restoration of 
the converted Jews by that great maritime nation of faith- 
ful worshippers, which he had already so amply describ- 
ed. It is worthy of notice, that what is translated in our 
common English version they shall shout from the sea, 
may with equal propriety be rendered they shall shout 
from the west f* Now the isles of the sea or the west, as 
I have already observed, commonly mean, in the language 
of Scripture, the western regions of Europe, because to 
the mariners who sailed into those countries from Tyre 
and Sidon, they appeared to be literally islands. Hence 
it is most reasonable to conclude, that the maritime power 
beyond the rivers of Cush, called to by the prophet in 
the 18th chapter, must be some one of the kingdoms of 
Europe ; and, from the whole tenor of the predictions 
relative to the destruction of the infidel king, the beast, 
and the false prophet, some one of those kingdoms which 
have separated themselves from the mystic harlot and have 
embraced evangelical protestantism. 

Yet, in the midst of his restoration by this great peo- 
ple, Judah is constrained to lament his leanness, and to 
complain that he has experienced treachery from the trea- 
cherous dealers. I know not why Judah should lament 

* I have not ventured to depart from the Hebrew reading-, though Bp. 
Lowth's conjectural emendation certainly renders this passage much more 
clear than it is at present. Instead of on'N3 by Urim, he supposes we ought 
to read Q>»to in the isles. In this he is supported by two M.S.S. of the 
lxx ; but, it does not appear, by any of the original Hebrew. 

f Bp. Lowth translates the passage, The waters shall resound with the ex- 
altation of the Lord ; instead of, They shall exult in the majesty of the Lord, 
they shall shout from the sea, or, from the west. The words of the prophet, so 
far as the letters are concerned, will undoubtedly bear this version r though 
not, if the points be taken into the account : for D*n» according to its punc- 
tuation, will either signify from, the sea, or the waters. I cannot see any rea- 
son for altering the present version ; nevertheless, even if it be altered, the 
general sense of the passage will remain much the same. In that case the 
waters will symbolically mean peoples ; and those peoples are heard to praise 
the Lord in the isles of the sea, or the maritime regions of Europe : hence^ 
with reference to Judea, the sound will of course come from the West? 



123 

his leanness, unless it be on account of his conversion 
not being universal * ; nor whom he can intend by the 
treacherous dealers, unless they be some nation remark- 
able in the last days, and even proverbial, for their per- 
fidy and treachery. This passage therefore, which is so 
evidently connected with the restoration of the Jews, seems 
to me to confirm the opinion of Bp. Horsley, that some 
of them in an unconverted state will join the army of 
Antichrist, and seek to regain their own country by his 
instrumentality. Acting however merely from political 
motives, he will soon give them reason to bewail his 
wonted perfidy, and their own too easy faith in his pro- 
mises f. 

Meanwhile, as Daniel predicts that the restoration of 
the Jews shall take place in a time of unexampled trouble, 
so Isaiah here predicts, that it shall be at an era marked 
by astonishing revolutions and tremendous commotions. 
After describing a state of things, in which no man can 
promise himself either personal liberty or security, he 
proceeds, in the figurative language of prophecy, language 
in the present instance borrowed from the catastrophe of 
the deluge J, to foretell an unspeakable degree of misery 
and confusion, which should fall upon the inhabitants of 
the earth on account of their transgressions §. And this 
leads him to predict, in a manner perfectly analogous to 

* It seems most natural to understand the leanness, of winch Judah here 
complains, as meaning' spiritual leaiviess ; agreeably to that in the Psalms, 
**He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul." Psalm cvi. 15. 

f The Jides Gallica has immemorially been little less proverbial than the 
fides Punica. " Francis familiare est ridendo fidem frangere" (Vopisc. Pro- 
cop. C xiii. P. 237. Ed.Bipont.). " Gens Francorum infidelis est. Si per- 
jeret Francus quid novi faciet, qui perjurium ipsum sermonis genus putat 
esse non cri minis" (Salvian. de Gub. Dei L. iv. P. 82. Mag-. Bib. Pat. 5.). 
" Franci mendaces, sed hospitales" (Ibid. L. 7. P. 116.). Such was the 
character of the ancient Franks, upon which Mr. Turner observes, " This 
tinion of laughter and crime, of deceit and politeness, has not been entirely 
unknown to France in many periods since the fifth century" (Hist, of the 
Anglo-Saxons, Vol. i. P. 56.). In the more stern and energetic language of 
the apostle, it is predicted, that in the last days, the peculiar days of Antichrist* 
the days of which Isaiah is now speaking, there should be truce-breukers, 
traitors, heady, high-minded. 2 Tim. iii. 3, 4. 

t At the period of the deluge, the fountains of the great abyss were bro- 
ken up, the fissures on high or in the shell of the earth were opened to give 
a free passage to the waters, and the very foundations of the globe trembled. 
See Catcotton the deluge. See likewise Mr. Lowth in loc. 

§ Bp. Lowth applies this symbolical prediction to the destruction of the ec- 
clesiastical and civil polity of the Jews. But this had been already foretold by 



124 

his former prophecy, the final overthrow of Antichrist 
and his rebellions host. After many days (an usual scrip- 
tural phrase to denote the time of the end, or the conclu- 
sion of the great period of 1260 years,) the tyrant and his 
associates shall be gathered together into one place, here 
figuratively termed their prison^s criminals are gathered 
together into the vault of a dungeon. This place we 
learn from other prophecies to be in the land of Palestine, 
and from St. John to be in the immediate neighbourhood 
of Megiddo *. By the total overthrow of the enemies 
of God, the political sun and moon will be confounded ; 
the last of the four great monarchies will be dissolved ; 
the kingdom of the symbolical mountain will commence ; 
and the Lord of hosts will reign in mount Zion and in 
Jerusalem. 

Enraptured with the consolatory prospect, Isaiah now 
breaks forth into a song of triumph. He praises God 
for dashing in pieces the strong-holds of Antichrist, and 
for defending the poor and the needy from his violence. 
He adds, that, in consequence of these judgments, even 
the terrible ones themselves should fear the Lord ; thus 
hinting at that conversion of the relics of the Antichris- 
tian host, which in other parts of holy writ is more large- 
ly and definitely predicted. He declares, that, in this 
mountain, however unexpected such an event might be, 
even in mount Zion itself where the wilful tyrant had 
lately pitched the tabernacles of his hosts \ ; in this 
mountain the Lord shall make unto all people a spiritual 
feast of fat things %, and destroy the veil of ignorance \ 

Isaiah in the first thirteen verses of the 24th chapter ,- and he is now passing on 
to their restoration and conversion. Hence I think it more natural to refer it to 
the great convulsions which will usher in the final overthrow of Antichrist, 
to that period of unexampled distress in the midst of which the Jews will be 
restored. In fine, the political troubles here mentioned will terminate, ac- 
cording- to Isaiah, in the reigning of the Lord of hosts on mount Zion and in 
Jerusalem ; whereas the overthrow of the Jewish polity had no such termina- 
tion : for Jerusalem, instead of then becoming the city of God, began at that 
very period to be trodden down by the Gentiles. 

* " I cannot find any explication of this verse, (Isaiah xxiv. 22.) so agree- 
able to the natural sense of the words, as that of a late learned writer upon 
the Revelation, chap. xix. 6, who explains it of the kings of the earth, who 
made war with Christ and his saints at Armageddon. Rev. xvi. 16. xix. 19." 
Mr. Lowth in loc. 

f Dan. xi. 45. t Compare Isaiah ii. 2 — 5. 

§ "The phrase — may denote the taking away all ignorance and prejudice 
from men's minds, which St. Paul compares to a veil (2 Cor. iii. 13, 14.) ; and 



125 

which has long been cast over so large a portion of man- 
kind, both Jews and Gentiles. Then will he swallow up 
death in victory; then will tears be wiped away from 
every eye ; then will his people Israel be the glory, in- 
stead of the reproach, of the whole earth*. 

In that day, the restored Jews may be supposed to lift 
up their voices in joyful acclamations to the Lord ; to 
praise him for overthrowing their enemies, and causing 
the nations to be ashamed of their former envy ; to ac- 
knowledge his goodness for delivering them from those 
harsh lords who have had dominion over them ; to con- 
fess, that he wonderfully preserved and increased them, 
as he did of old in Egypt, though he had removed them 
to the very ends of the earth ; and to own that their 
pangs and troubles, both during the period of their dis- 
persion and at the boisterous era of their restoration, re- 
sembled those of a woman drawing near to the time of 
her delivery. They had long brought forth, as it were, 
only wind ; but now a mighty people is born at once, is 
suddenly converted to the faith of Christ, and takes its 
rank among the chief of the nations f. 

The prophet now speaks again in his own person, and 
declares, that, although the Jews should long experience 
the horrors of a political death, they should at length 
revive, and once more become an independent and regu- 
larly constituted government. The earth should cast out 
her dead ; they should be gathered together from the 
four quarters of the habitable globe ; and they, that long 
dwelt in the dust of the allegorical grave, should awake 
and sing. In the midst however of God's judgments upon 
their enemies, he charges them to be still. He bids them 
wait, till the indignation be past ; till the Lord hath come 
out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for 
their iniquity ; till he hath broken the power of Antichrist \ 
who,like Leviathan in the natural sea, takes his pastime 
in the troubled sea of many nations, and rules uncontrol- 
led over the mighty waters of the Latin empire J. 

the word covering is used in the same sense in the prophecy, Isaiah xxix. 10." 
Mr. Lowth in loc. 

* Rev. xxi. 4. f Isaiah lxvi. 7, S, 9. 

\ In the first edition of my Dissertation on the 1260 years, Vol. I. p. 83, I 
was led into an error relative to the passage here commented upon, by foN 



126 

When God hath amply taken vengeance of his enemies, 
then will the Jews, as formerly, once more become the 
vineyard of his church. His protecting care had long been 
withdrawn from it ; its hedge had been broken down ; it 
had been laid waste ; it had been neither pruned nor dig- 
ged ,* it had produced nought but briars and brambles ; 
the clouds had been withheld from refreshing it with 

lowing Mr. Mede and Bp. Newton. I supposed with them, that the dragon, 
mentioned in Isaiah xxvii. 1. and in Ezek. xxix. 3, is such a dragon as that 
mentioned in the Apocalypse, namely a large serpent ; and I thence conclud- 
ed, that, like the apocalyptic dragon, it symbolizes the devil acting through the 
instrumentality of certain heathen powers. I am now convinced, that 1 was 
mistaken. The dragon or aquatic monster, described by Ezekiel, seems plainly, 
as Abp. Newcome properly observes, to be the crocodile, the constant symbol 
of Egypt ; while the dragon or aquatic monster, mentioned by Isaiah, appears 
to be some large sea-fish or possibly a water-snake. In the passage of Ezekiel, 
Pharaoh is undoubtedly intended : but the passage of Isaiah, connected as it 
manifestly is with the restoration of the yews and the destruction of Antichrist, 
cannot, with any degree of propriety, be applied to the ancient sovereigns of 
Egypt. In short, I conceive that the huge sea-monster Leviathan is used in 
the present prophecy to symbolize, not Satan, but Antichrist in the midst of 
his overgrown power, and while lording it like the apocalyptic harlot over many 
waters. Bp. Lowth translates the passage, Leviathan the rigid serpent, and 
Leviathan the winding serpent, and shall slay the monster that is in the sea. From 
these words he concludes, that three different animals are here mentioned : 
" the crocodile, rigid, by the stiffness of the back-bone, so that he cannot 
readily turn himself when he pursues his prey ; the serpent or dragon, flexi- 
ble and winding; the sea-monster, or the whale." Upon which his Lord- 
ship remarks, " These are used allegorically, no doubt, for great potentates, 
enemies and persecutors of the people of God." . I freely confess, that 1 prefer 
my own translation of the passage, and that I think it much more natural to 
consider the prophet as speaking of only one sea-monster. To annex the sense 
of rigid or stiff to the adjective r\rp. seems to me very far-fetched. The 
primitive verb m'3 signifies to fee or shoot along : hence rma denotes at once 
a fugitive and a bar ,• the latter, from the idea of a bar shooting through the 
rings, within which it is confined, in the act of barring a door. What then 
Is the meaning of the adjective rru ? The Lexicographers tell us long and 
stiff, because a bolt is both long and stiff. But this is surely departing very 
far from the original sense of the root, and annexing to one of its derivatives 
a mere incidental idea which belongs to another of its derivatives. A bolt 
is called nns, not because it is long and stiff, but because it shoots through its 
rings. The seco?ul idea not the first, is that which connects it with its primitive. 
Hence it appears to me utterly incomprehensible upon any consistent prin- 
ciple of derivation, how the adjective ma, which springs from the radical 
verb n*\3 to flee or shoot along, can signify long and stiff. At least, if we an- 
nex such a meaning to it, there is certainly no common idea that connects 
the root with its derivative. On these grounds I have translated the passage, 
"Leviathan, the serpent that rapidly darteth along ; M namely, as a fish darts 
along through the water : and I am supported in my translation both by the 
xxx, who render the words ^cckovIoc optv tytvyo\l&> and by the Arabic ver- 
sion, which reads draconem serpentem fugientem. It may be observed, that 
Mr. Parkhurst, in the sense which he ascribes to the adjective m}, entirely 
departs from the excellent rule, which he himself had laid down in the Pre- 
face to his Hebrew Lexicon : " Wherever the radical letters are the same, 
the leading idea, or notion runs through all the deflexions of the word, how* 



127 

rain* : but now it is become a vineyard of desire ; the 
Lord himself keepeth it ; he watereth it every moment ; 
he keepeth it night and day, lest any hurt it. He caus- 
eth Jacob to take root, and Israel to fill the face of the 
whole world with fruit. Severely as he hath smitten him 
for his manifold iniquities ; yet he hath moderated his 
anger, he hath not smitten him with the stroke which he 
hath finally laid upon his persecutors, the stroke of utter 
excision. On the contrary, he hath debated with his an- 
cient church in exact measure ; he hath meditated, as it 
were by rule, upon her chastisements, even when riding 
in the whirlwind and directing the storm. He declareth, 
that her sin shall be taken away, when she forsaketh her 
abominations. 

In fine, at the very time when the affairs of Israel ap- 
pear most desperate ; when his cities are desolate, and 
his habitations forsaken ; when his land is a wilderness ; 
and when even women stretch forth their hands, and 
pluck off his withered branches : then will the Lord be- 
gin a work, which shall rouse the slumbering attention 
of all the inhabitants of the earth. He will thresh, as it 
were with a threshing instrument, from the river Eu- 
phrates to the river ofEgypt\. Both those mystic streams 
shall be dried up, in order that a way may be prepared 
for the kings from the rising of the sun. He will gather 
together the children of Israel, one by one, from the land 
of their dispersion. He will cause the great trumpet of 
the Gospel to be heard to the very extremities of the 

ever numerous or diversified." Hew can this be the case, if the adjective 
m3> to which he ascribes the signification of straight and rigid, be derived 
from the verb ma to flee. What common leading idea runs through the pri- 
mitive, which means to flee ; and its deflexion, if it signify straight and rigid? 
Mr. Lowth observes, like myself, that "the Hebrew word Beriah, which our 
English translates piercing, signifies likewise tunning away." Mr. Lowth 
in loc. 

* See Isaiah v. 6. 

f The river is here spoken by way of eminence, and is manifestly placed in 
contradiction to the river of Egypt : hence 1 apprehend, according to the usu- 
al phraseology of Scripture, that the Euphrates i9 intended. This idea per- 
fectly agrees both with the context of the present passage, and with other 
parallel prophecies. Compare Isaiah xi. 15, 16. xix. 5, 23, 24— Zechar. x. 
"10, 11, 12. From the same parallel prophecies I think we may likewise con- 
clude, that by the river of Egypt we are here to understand the Nile, not the 
small river in the neighbourhood of Gaza which was the southern boundary 
of the dominions of Israel. See Gen. xv. 18. Numb, xxxiv. 5. Josh. xv. 4. 47 
See also Weil's Geog. of the, Old Test. Vol. L p. 158 ; and Mr. Lovrth in loc 



128 

earth. And they, that are now lost in the land of Assy- 
ria, the remnant of the ten tribes * ; and they, that were 
thrust down into the land of Egypt, the wreck of Judah 
after the desolation of their country by the Romans f ; all 
these shall obey the call, shall assemble together, and 
shall worship the Lord in the holy mount of Jerusalem. 



PROPHECY VIII. 

The dispersion and subsequent restoration of the Jews — The over- 
throw of the mystic Assyrian. 

Isaiah xxx. 17. One thousand, at the rebuke of one ; 
at the rebuke of five, ten thousand of you shall flee. 

18. Yet for all this shall the Lord wait to shew favour 
unto you ; even for this shall he expect in silence, that 
he may have mercy upon you : (for the Lord is a God 
of judgment; blessed are all they that trust in him.) 

19. For the people shall dwell in Zion : in Jerusalem 
thou shalt in no wise weep : he will be exceeding gra- 
cious unto thee at the voice of thy cry : no sooner shall 
he hear, than he shall answer thee. 20. Though the Lord 

* Although Ephraim is broken that he shall never more be a distinct peo- 
ple ; yet we are expressly taught by the voice of prophecy, that the ten tribes 
which were carried away into the land of Assyria shall be restored no less 
than the tribe of Judah, and that the two divided kingdoms of Israel will for 
ever coalesce into one &i?igdom. Isaiah represents them here, precisely what 
they have been for ages, as being lost ; and nevertheless declares, that in, 
God's own appointed season they shall come. It is well known how many 
have fruitlessly wearied themselves to find them (See Bp. Newton's Dissert. 
vin.) : that they will however be found, Scripture asserts in the most posi- 
tive terms, as we shall see when we arrive at those prophecies which pecu- 
liarly treat of the subject. Since the second advent of the Messiah is the time 
of the restoration of Israel, and since the finding these lost ones seems to be 
a knot which God alone can untie, perhaps there may be more truth in the 
Jewish notion than has commonly been imagined, that, when " the Messiah 
shall come, it will be part of his office to sort their families, restore their 
genealogies, and set aside strangers. 3 ' 

I "When Jerusalem was taken by Titus, of the captives who were above 
seventeen years he sent many bound to the works in Egypt; those under se- 
venteen were sold; but so little care was taken of these captives, that 11,000 
of them perished for want. And we learn from St. Jerome, that after their 
last overthrow by Adrian, many thousands of them were sold ; and those, 
who could not be sold were transported into Egypt, and perished by ship- 
wreck or famine, or were massacre^ by the inhabitants." Bp. Newton's 
Dissert, vii. 



129 

hath given you bread of distress, and water of affliction ; 
yet the timely rain shall no more be restrained, but thine 
eyes shall behold the timely rain. 21. And thine ears 
shall hear the word prompting thee behind, saying, This 
is the way, walk ye in it ; turn not aside, to the right, or 
to the left. 22. And ye shall treat as defiled the covering 
of your idols of silver, and the clothing of your molten 
images of gold : thou shalt cast them away like a polluted 
garment ; thou shalt say unto them, Begone from me. 
23. And he shall give rain for thy seed, with which thou 
shalt sow the ground ; and bread of the produce of the 
ground : and it shall be abundant and plenteous. Then 
shall thy cattle feed in large pasture ; 24. And the oxen 
and the young asses, that till the ground, shall eat well- 
fermented maslin, winnowed with the van and the sieve. 

25. And, on every lofty mountain, and on every high 
hill, shall be disparting streams, and rills of water, in 
the day of the great slaughter, when the mighty fall #. 

26. And the light of the moon shall be as the light of 
the sun, and the light of the sun shall be seven-fold, in 
the day when the Lord shall bind up the breach of his 
people, and shall heal the wound which his stroke hath 
inflicted. 

27. Lo, the name of the Lord cometh from afar ; his 
wrath burnetii, and the flame rageth violently : his lips 
are filled with indignation ; and his tongue is as a consum- 
ing fire. 28. His spirit is like a torrent overflowing ; it 
shall reach to the middle of the neck : he cometh to toss 
the nations with the van of perdition ; and there shall be 
a bridle to lead them astray, in the jaws of the peoples. 
29. Ye shall utter a song, as in the night when the feast 
is solemnly proclaimed ; with joy of heart, as when one 
marcheth to the sound of the pipe ; to go to the moun- 
tain of the Lord, the rock of Israel. 30. And the Lord 
shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and the light- 
ing down of his arm to be seen ; with wrath indignant, 
and a flame of consuming fire ; with a violent storm, and 

* When the mighty fall.'] " This shall be remarkably fulfilled at the time 
when there shall be a terrible destruction of God's enemies (see Rev. xiv. 
20. xix. 21.) ; when the great ones of the earth shall fall, denoted here by 
high towers ,- or by towers we may understand thefortifications of the city which 
is the mystical Babylon.'* Mr. Lowth in loc 

17 



130 

rushing showers, and hailstones. 31. By the voice of 
the Lord the Assyrian shall be beaten down, he, that was 
ready to srnite with his staff. 32. And it shall be, that 
wherever shall pass the rod of correction, which the Lord 
shall lay heavily upon him ; it shall be accompanied with 
tabrets and harps ; and with fierce battles shall he fight 
against them. 33. For Tophet is ordained of old; even 
the same for the king is prepared ; he hath made it deep ; 
he hath made it large ; a fiery pile, and abundance of 
fuel : and the breath of the Lord, like a stream of sul- 
phur, shall kindle it. 

COMMENTARY. 

After declaring the depressed and enfeebled state, to 
which Israel should be reduced, Isaiah predicts, that the 
Lord, after long waiting in silence, after a long cessation 
of the visible interpositions of Providence*, will again 
shew favour unto his people. He will listen to the voice 
of their cry, and will cause them to dwell with joy in 
Zion and Jerusalem. Though he hath given them the 
bread of distress and the water of affliction, and hath 
withheld from them the gentle rain of spiritual influences 
whereby his Church is watered and rendered fruitful ; 
yet now the timely rain shall no more be restrained, but 
the voice of instruction shall make them walk steadily in 
the paths of righteousness. Then shall they reject all their 
former abominations, after which their fathers in old times 
went a whoring ; and their land, which had been cursed 
by God with comparative sterility, shall abundantly give 
its increase. The light of their political sun and moon 
shall be seven-fold increased, in the day when the Lord 
healeth the wound of his people ; and, after the day of 
the great slaughter, after the mighty are fallen, the latter 
end of Israel shall be more glorious than his beginning. 

Having described the millennian felicity of the house 
of Jacob, the prophet next pourtrays in glowing colours 
the overthrow of Antichrist^ whom he here, as else- 



* Compare this with the similar phraseology, which Isaiah uses in Chap, 
iii. 4. and xlii. 14, to describe the same cessation ofi supernatural interfer- 
ences. 

f Bp. Lowth seems to apply this prophecy exclusively to the destruction of 
Sennacherib's army. It may primarily relate to it ; but the general tenor of 



xviii 
ences. 



131 

where, mystically terms the Assyrian, or the king of the 
figurative Babylon*. The Name of the Lord, the person- 
al Word of God t, cometh from afar, with great indigna- 
tion, in the day of his second advent. He tosses the 
confederacy of the nations with the van of destruction, 
and puts a bridle into the jaws of the peoples. By the 
Voice of the Lord, Antichrist, even in the midst of 
his strength, is beaten down : and, wherever the Al- 
mighty lays heavily upon him the rod of correction ; 
there his rescued servants applaud the righteous stroke, 
and exult with tabrets and with harps. The fiery des- 
truction, that is prepared for him, is like the flames of 
Tophet. The pile is large : his wretched confederates 
are its abundant fuel : and it is kindled by the breath of 
the Lord himself, as by a stream of sulphur^. 



PROPHECY IX, 

The desolation of the mystic Edom — The miracles o£ Christ at his 
first and second advent — The restoration of the Jews. 

Isaiah xxxiv. 1. Draw near, O ye nations, and hear- 
ken ; and attend unto me, O ye peoples ! Let the earth 
hear, and the fulness thereof ; the world, and all that 

the whole prediction almost necessarily leads us to look beyond that event to 
the days of Antichrist. The great blessedness of Israel, both temporal and 
spiritual, which is described as succeeding the overthrow of the Assyrian, by- 
no means accords with the comparatively moderate prosperity of Hezekiah 
and with the unfortunate reigns of his successors. Such vivid descriptions 
can only with propriety be applied to the final restoration, and the glories of 
the Millennium. And, if this description in particular must be thus applied, 
then the Assyrian must be a mystical character. See Mr. Lowth on Isaiah 
xxx. 19. 

* Compare Isaiah xiv. 25. and Micah v. 6. 

f The second person of the blessed Trinity is indifferently styled the Word. 
the Name, and the Voice, of the Lord : and in this manner, those appellations. 
are accordingly understood by the ancient Targumists. (See Jamieson'.s 
Vindication of the doctrine of Scripture, Vol. i. P. 53, 54. See indeed the 
whole chapter.) The Name or the Voice of the Lord, who here executes 
vengeance upon his incorrigible enemies, is the same divine person, whose 
manifestation for the same purpose is described in the Apocalypse xix. 1 1 — 16. 
He is Jesus the Messiah. 

* I doubt whether the punishment of hell be here meant : the excision of thy 
incorrigible faction of Antichrist seems alone to be intended. Pee Bp. Lowth in 
loc. who supposes the passage to relate only to the destruction of the Assyrian 
army, and Bp. Horsley's Letter on Isaiah xv'iii. P. 97- Note 1, 



132 

spring from it. 2. For the wrath of the Lord is kindled 
against all the nations, and his anger against all their ar- 
mies; he hath devoted them with a curse to utter destruc- 
tion ; he hath given them up to slaughter. 3. And their 
slain shall be cast out ; and from their carcases their stink 
shall ascend ; and the mountains shall melt down with 
their blood *. 4. And all the host of heaven shall waste 
away ; and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll ; and 
all their host shall wither ; as the withered leaf falleth 
from the vine, and as the blighted fruit from the fig-tree. 
5. For my sword shall be bathed in the heavens : behold, 
on Edom it shall descend, even on the people devoted by 
me with a curse to destruction. 6. The sword of -the 
Lord is glutted with blood ; it is pampered with fat, with 
the blood of lambs and of goats, with the fat of the reins 
of lambs : for the Lord celebrateth a sacrifice in Bozrah, 
and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. 7. And the 
wild- goats shall fall down with them, and the bullocks 
together with the bulls : and their own land shall be drunk- 
en with their blood, and their dust shall be enriched with 
fat. 8. For it is the day of vengeance to the Lord, the year 
of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. 9. And her 
torrents shall be turned into pitch, and her dust into sul- 
phur ; and her whole land shall become burning pitch. 
10. By day or by night it shall not be extinguished ; for 
ever shall her smoke ascend : from generation to genera- 
tion she shall lie desert ; to everlasting ages no one shall 
pass through her : 11. But the pelican and the porcupine 
shall inherit her ; and the owl and the raven shall inhabit 
there : and he shall stretch over her the line of devasta- 
tion, and the plummet of emptiness over her scorched 
plains. 12. No more shall they boast the renown of the 
kingdom ; and all her princes shall utterly fail. 13. And 
in her palaces shall spring up thorns ; the nettle and the 
bramble in her fortresses : and she shall become an habi- 
tation for dragons, a court for the daughters of the ostrich. 
14. And the jackals and the mountain-cats shall meet one 
another ; and the satyr shall call to his fellow : there also 

* Ver. 2, 3.] '* These two verses may very fitly be applied to t he battle of 
the great day of the Almighty, mentioned Rev. xvi. 14, 16. compared with xvir 
14. six. 19." Mr. Lowth in loe. 



133 

the screech-owl shall pitch, and shall find for herself a place 
of rest. 15. There shall the night-raven make her nest, 
and lay her eggs ; and she shall hatch them, and gather 
her yonng under her shadow : there also shall the vul- 
tures be gathered together ; every one of them shall join 
her mate. 16. Consult ye the book of the Lord, and 
read : not one of these shall be missed ; not a female shall 
lack her mate : for the mouth of the Lord hath given the 
command ; and his spirit itself hath gathered thenl. 
17. And he hath cast the lot for them ; and his hand hath 
meted out their portion by the line : they shall possess the 
land for a perpetual inheritance ; from generation to gen- 
eration shall thev dwell therein. 

xxxv. 1. The desert, and the waste, shall be glad : 
and the wilderness shall rejoice and flourish. 2. Like the 
rose shall it beautifully flourish ; and the well- watered 
plain of Jordan shall rejoice : the glory of Lebanon shall 
be given unto it, the beauty of Carmel and of Sharon ; 
these shall behold the glory of the Lord, the majesty of 
our God. 

3. Strengthen ye the feeble hands, and confirm ye the 
tottering knees. 4. Say ye to the faint-hearted : Be ye 
strong ; fear ye not ; behold your God ! Vengeance 
will come, the retribution of God : he himself will come, 
and will deliver you. 5. Then shall the eyes of the blind 
be unclosed ; and the ears of the deaf shall be opened : 

6. Then shall the lame bound like the hart, and the 
tongue of the dumb shall sing : for in the wilderness 
shall burst forth waters, and torrents in the desert. 

7. And the glowing sand shall become a pool ; and the 
thirsty soil, bubbling springs : and in the haunt of dra- 
gons shall spring forth the grass, with the reed, and 
the bulrush. 8. And a highway shall be there ; and 
it shall be called The way of holiness : no unclean 
person shall pass through it ; but He himself shall be 
with them, walking in the way, and the foolish shall not 
err therein. 9. No lion shall be there ; nor shall the ty- 
rant of the beasts come up thither : neither shall he be 
found there ; but the redeemed shall walk in it. 

10. Yea, the ransomed of the Lord shall return ; and 
they shall come to Zion with triumph; and perpetual 



134 



gladness shall crown their heads. Joy and gladness shall 
they obtain ; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 



COMMENTARY. 



" These two chapters," says Bp. Lowth, " make one 
distinct prophecy ; an entire, regular, and beautiful poem, 
consisting of two parts : the first containing a denuncia- 
tion of divine vengeance against the enemies of the peo- 
ple or Church of God ; the second describing the flour- 
ishing state of the Church of God, consequent upon the 
execution of these judgments. The event foretold is 
represented as of the highest importance, and of univer- 
sal concern : all nations are called upon to attend to the de- 
claration of it : and the wrath of God is denounced against 
all the nations ;* that is, all those that had provoked to 
anger the defender of the cause of Zion. Among these, 
Edom is particularly specified. The principal provoca- 
tion of Edom was their insulting the Jews in their dis- 
tress, and joining, against them with their enemies the 
Chaldeans *. Accordingly the Edomites were, together 
with the rest of the neighbouring nations, ravaged and 
laid waste by Nebuchadnezzar f . The general devasta- 
tion, spread through all these countries by Nebuchad- 
nezzar, may be the event which the prophet has primarily 
in view in the 34<th chapter : but this event, as far as we 
have any account of it in history, seems by no means to 
come up to the terms of the prophecy, or to justify so 
high- wrought and so terrible a description. And it is 
not easy to discover what connection the extremely flou- 
rishing state of the Church or people of God, describ- 
ed in the next chapter, could have with those events ; 
and how the former could be the consequence of the lat- 
ter, as it is there represented to be. By a figure, very 
common in the prophetical writings, any city or people ', 
remarkably distinguished as enemies of the people and 
kingdom of God, is put for those enemies in general. This 
seems here to be the case with Edom and Bozrah. It 

* See Amos i. 11. — Ezek. xxv. 12. — xxxv. 15 — Psalm cxxxvii. 7. 
f See Jerem. xxv. 15 — 26. — Malachi i. 3, 4. — and see Marsham. Can, 
Chron. Ssec. xviii. who calls this the age of the devastation of cities. 



135 

seems therefore reasonable to suppose, with many learn- 
ed expositors, that this prophecy has a further view to 
events still future ; to some great revolutions to be ef- 
fected in later times, antecedent to the more perfect state 
of the kingdom of God upon earth, and serving to intro- 
duce it, which the holy Scriptures warrant us to expect*. 

" That the 35 th chapter has a view beyond any thing, 
that could be the immediate consequence of those events, 
is plain from every part, especially from the middle of 
it f, where the miraculous works wrought by our bless- 
ed Saviour are so clearly specified, that we cannot avoid 
making the application: and our Saviour himself has 
moreover plainly referred to this very passage as speak 
ing of him and his works. He bids the disciples of John 
to go and report to their master the things which they 
heard and saw ; that the blind received their sight, the 
lame walked, and the deaf heard J : and leaves it to him 
to draw the conclusion in answer to his inquiry, whether 
he, who performed the very works which the prophets 
foretold should be performed by the Messiah, was not 
indeed the Messiah himself. And where are these works 
so distinctly marked by any of the prophets, as in this 
place ? and how could they be marked more distinctly ? 
To these the strictly literal interpretation of the prophet's 
words directs us. According to the allegorical interpre- 
tation, they may have a further view : this part of the 
prophecy may run parallel with the former, and relate to 
the future advent of Christ; to the conversion of the Jews, 
and their restitution to their land; to the extension and 
purification of the Christian faith ; events predicted in the 
holy Scriptures, as preparatory to it §." 

To these remarks of Bp. Lowth I have but little to 
add. They appear to me to be perfectly just, with a 
single exception : I much doubt whether the Edom, here 

* "The enemies of God's Church are often represented by the name of 
some country which was remarkable for its hatred and ill usage of the Jews, 
such as Egypt, Baby Ion % Edotn, and Moab ,• and thus Edomov Idumea may be 
taken here— The words here seem to describe a more general judgment, of 
which the destruction of Edoin was an imperfect representation." Mr. 
Lowth's Comment, on Isaiah xxxiv. 5. 

t Ver. 5, 6. * Matt. xi. 4, 5. 

§ Bp. Lowtli's Isaiah in loc. 



136 

spoken of, can with any degree of propriety be applied 
to the literal Edorn in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. 
Independent of the magnificence of the images being 
but little applicable to the sufferings of Edorn, as the 
Bishop himself remarks ; the restoration of Judah from 
Babylon cannot surely be esteemed the result of those 
sufferings, when it did not take place till several years 
after, and that, not in consequence of the devastation of 
Edom by Nebuchadnezzar, but in consequence of the 
overthrow of the Babylonian empire by Cyrus. The 
prophet however, at the close of the 35th chapter, plainly 
represents some restoration of the Jews, as being the 
consequence of some destruction of Edom. This restora- 
tion therefore cannot be the restoration from Babylon. 
And, if it be not the restoration from Babylon, it can only 
be the yet future restoration ; at which period, the literal 
Edom will long have ceased to be a people. Hence the 
Edom, whose overthrow is represented by the prophet as 
being closely connected with the yet future restoration of 
the Jews, certainly cannot be at all the literal Edom ; be- 
cause the overthrow of the literal Edom was connected 
with no restoration of the Jews. 

In fact, the mystic Edom of this prediction, as the Rab- 
bies have ever believed *, and as I shall state [at large in 
considering a subsequent prophecy closely connected 
with the present : the mystic Edom is the Roman empire, 
in the last stage of its existence ; that is to say, when so 
organized as to have become, agreeably to the declara- 
tion of St. John, one great confederacy under the influ- 
ence of Antichrist f. 

The overthrow of this mystic Edom, whose desolation 
(it may be observed) is described in a manner closely 
resembling that in which the desolation of Babylon is 
described }, will strongly mark the era of the restoration 
of Judah, and will prepare a way for the restoration of 
Israel. In the 35 th chapter, the two events of the first 
and second advent of our Lord, are, in a manner very 

* " The Jewish writers do generally suppose, that Edom in the writings 
of the prophets stands for Rome" Mr. Lowth's Comment, on Isaiah xxxiv. 5. 
f See Rev. xvi. 12—16. xix. 17—21. 
t Compare Isaiah xxxiv. 8—17. with xiii. 19—22. and Rev. xviii. 



137 

usual among the prophets, mingled together. Christ heal- 
ed all manner of diseases in the day of his first advent ; 
but the restoration ofJudah will assuredly not take place 
till the day of his second advent. Yet, even that part of 
the prophecy, which relates to the healing of the sick, the 
unclosing the eyes of the blind, the opening the ears of 
the deaf, and the causing the tongue of the dumb to sing, 
may hereafter receive a yet more ample, though not more 
exact, accomplishment than it has hitherto done. If the 
Messiah, during the period of his humiliation only, 
wrought many miracles of this nature in the land of Ju- 
dea exclusively ; I can discover nothing very improba- 
ble in the supposition, that those miracles of beneficence 
may be repeated to a much greater extent during his tri- 
umphant millenrvan reign upon earth. At least, I may 
say with Mr. Mede, that there is certainly nothing dero- 
gatory to the glory of God in entertaining even the most 
magnificent conceptions of what his Spirit hath been 
pleased to describe so magnificently. 



PROPHECY X. 

The first advent — The second advent — The overthrow of Anti- 
christ — The conversion and restoration of the spiritually blind 
Jews — A denunciation against Babylon. 

Isaiah xlii. 1. Behold my servant, w r hom I will up- 
hold ; my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth : I will 
make my spirit rest upon him ; and he shall publish 
judgment to the nations — 3. The bruised reed he slijik 
not break ; and the dimly burning flax he shall not 
quench: he shall publish judgment, so as to estab- 
lish it perfectly. 4. His force shall not be abated nor 
broken ; until he hath firmly seated judgment in the 
earth : and the distant nations shall earnestly wait for his 
law — 9. The former predictions, lo ! they are come to 
pass ; and new events I now declare : before they spring 
forth, I make them known unto you. 

10. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise 
18 



138 

from the end of the earth ; ye that go down to the sea, 
and its fulness; ye isles, and ye that dwell in them. 
11. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their 
voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit : let the inha- 
bitants of the rock sing ; let them shout from the top of 
the mountains. 12. Let them give glory unto the Lord, 
and declare his praise in the islands. 

13. The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall 
stir up jealousy like a man of war : he shall cry, yea he 
shall roar; he shall prevail against his enemies. 14. From 
ages long past I have holden my peace - r I have been still ; 
I have refrained myself* : but now I will cry aloud like 
a travailing woman ; I will destroy and devour at once* 
15. I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up 
all their herbs ; and I will reduce the rivers to islands, 
and I will dry up the pools. 16. And I will bring the 
blind by a way that they knew not ; I will lead them in 
paths that they have not known : I will make darkness 
light before them, and crooked things straight. These 
things will I do for them, and not forsake them. 17. They 
shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed that 
trust in graven images, that say to the molten images,, 
Ye are our gods. 

18. Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may 
see. 19. Who is blind, but my servant ; and deaf, but 
the messenger whom I sent ? Who is blind, but he that 
ruleth over them f ; and deaf, but the servant of the 
Lord ? 20. Seeing many things, and thou observest notf ; 

* For ages long past I have holden my peace ; I have been still ; I have refrain- 
ed myself '. ] " For thus saith the Lord unto* me : I will sit still, but I will 
keep my eye upon my prepared habitation." Isaiah xviii. 4. See also 

#• 13 - 

•j" He that ruleth over them.'] Heb. E5*?tf>D> rendered by the lxx, Oi xvgtev- 
<jv7e$ ctvlm^ and in the Latin translation of the Arabic, Qui dominantur eis. 

i Seeing nnaiiy things, and thou observest not.'] This passage is exactly paral- 
lel to another, wherein Isaiah describes the blindness and dispersion of 
Israel. " And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but under- 
stand not ; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this peo- 
ple fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes ; lest they see with 
their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and 
convert, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, 
Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, 
and the land be utterly desolate, and the Lord have removed men far away, 
and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.'* Isaiah vi. 9—12 



139 

he openeth the ears, and doth not hear. 21. The Lord 
is well pleased for his righteousness, sake ; he will mag- 
nify the law, and make it honourable. 22. But this is a 
people robbed and spoiled * ; they are all snared in holes, 
and hid in prison-houses : they are for a prey, and none 
delivereth ; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore. 

23. Who among you will give ear to this ? who will 
hearken, and hear for the time to come? 24. Who gave 
Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers ? Did not the 
Lord, he against whom we have sinned ? For they would 
not walk in his ways, neither w T ere they obedient unto his 
law. 25. Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury 
of his anger, and the strengh of war : and it hath set him 
on fire round about, yet he knoweth not ; and it hath 
burned him, yet he layeth it not to heart. 

xliii. 1. But now, thus saith the Lord that created 
thee, O Jacob ; and he that formed thee, O Israel : Fear 
not, for I have redeemed thee ; I have called thee by thy 
name, thou art mine. 2. When thou passest through 
the waters, I will be with thee ; and through the rivers, 
they shall not overflow thee : when thou walkest through 
the fire, thou shalt not be burned ; neither shall the flame 
kindle upon thee. 3. For I, the Lord thy God, the Holy- 
One of Israel, am thy saviour : I gave Egypt for thy ran- 
som, Ethiopia and Saba instead of thee. 4. Since thou 
wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable and 
I have loved thee : and I will give man for thee, and the 
nations for thy life. 5. Fear not, for I am with thee r I 
will bring thy seed from the east and gather thee from 
the west : 6. I will say to the north, Give up ; and to 
the south, Keep not back : bring my sons from far, and 
my daughters from the ends of the earth ; 7. Every one 
that is called by my name : for I have created him for 
my glory, I have formed him, yea I have made him. 
8. Bring forth the blind people \, and they shall have 
eyes ; and the deaf, and they shall have ears. 9. Let all 

* This is a people robbed and spoiled."] " Go, swift messengers, unto a 
nation dragged away and plucked, unto a people wonderful from their be- 
ginning hitherto, a nation excepting expecting and trampled under foot, 
whose land rivers have spoiled." Isaiah xviii. 2. 

| Bring forth the blind people.] " Blindness in part is happened untt> 
Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come." Rom. xl. 23. 



140 

the nations be gathered together, and let the people be 
assembled ; who among them can declare this, and shew 
us former things ? Let them bring forth their witnesses 
that they may be justified ; and let them hear, that they 
may speak the truth. 10. Ye are my witnesses, saith the 
Lord, and my servants whom I have chosen : that ye 
may know, and believe me, and understand that I am 
He : before me there was no God formed, neither shall 
there be any after me. 11. I, even I, am the Lord ; and 
beside me there is no Saviour. 12. I have declared, and 
I have saved, and I have shewed ; and among you there 
shall be no strange God : and ye are my witnesses, ,saith 
the Lord, and I am God. 13. Even before time was, I 
am he ; and there is none that can rescue out of my hand: 
I work ; and who shall undo what I have done ? , 

14. Thus saith the Lord your Redeemer, the Holy 
One of Israel : For your sake have I sent unto Bab)' Ion; 
and I will bring down all her strong bars, and the Chal- 
deans exulting in their ships. 15. I am the Lord, your 
Holy Oi;e; the creator of Israel, your king. 

16. Thus saith the Lord, who made a way in the sea, 
and a path in the mighty waters ; 17. Who brought forth 
the rider and the horse, the army and the warrior : toge- 
ther they lay down, they rose no more; they were extin- 
guished, they were quenched like tow. 18. Remember 
not the former things ; and the things of ancient times 
regard not : 19. Behold, I make a new thing ; even now 
shall it spring forth : will ye not regard it ? Yea, I will 
make in the wilderness a way ; in the desert, streams of 
water. 20. The wild beast of the field shall glorify me ; 
the dragons, and the daughters of the ostrich : because I 
have given waters in the wilderness ; and flowing streams 
in the desert ; to give drink to my people, my chosen : 
21. This people, whom I*have formed for myself; who 
shall recount my praise. 

COMMENTARY. 

Isaiah opens this prophecy w T ith a description of the 
Messiah at the time of his Jirst advent : but he is soon 
naturally carried forward into the days of the second advent, 



141 

by the declaration, that the Saviour's force shall not be 
abated, nor broken, until he hath firmly seated judgment 
in the earth, and until the distant nations shall earnestly 
wait for his law. Such an introduction may serve as a 
key to all that follows ; teaching us to refer the latter 
part of the prediction to the final restoration of Israel, 
and consequently teaching us to understand the Babylon 
which is then to be destroyed, not literally, but mysti- 
cally. 

'Having pourtrayed the character of the Messiah, and 
having announced that he is now about to declare a new 
series of events, Isaiah solemnly calls upon the whole 
world to praise the Lord ; and then proceeds to foretell, 
that, at the time of the restoration of Israel, God shall go 
forth in great wrath to confound his enemies, even that 
impious Antichristian confederacy so largely described in 
other predictions, which should dare to oppose the re- 
turn of the converted of his people. After he has long 
holden his peace, after a long cessation of the visible in- 
terpositions of his providence, after he has long been still 
and has refrained himself ; he shall now, in the last days, 
lift up his voice, and destroy those who had madly taken 
up arms against him. At this dreadful period, at this 
time of the end, he shall lay waste symbolical mountains 
and hills ; and shall wither all their herbs, and exhaust 
their rivers so that islands shall be formed in their beds: 
in other words, as it is similarly predicted by St. John 
when describing the same awful consummation of the 
present order of things under the seventh vial*, he shall 
overturn both the larger and smaller Antichristian pow- 
ers, shall diminish their population, and shall dry up their 
resources. Then will he lead those, who have lonsr been 
mysteriously blind in error, bv a way that they have not 
known; and convert their intellectual darkness into light. 
Then shall the deaf hear the trumpet of the gospel ; and 
the blind behold the up-raised banner of the Messiah. 
For who are the blind and deaf, but the ancient people of 
God ? Hath not blindness happened alike to the whole of 
Israel? the ruler and the ruled, the teacher and the taught? 
Are they not* a nation robbed and spoiled ; a prey, and 

* Rev. xvi. 2.0 



142 

none delivereth ? And yet who hath given Jacob for a 
spoil, and Israel to the robbers ; except the Lord against 
whom he hath sinned, the Most High whose law he hath 
transgressed ? It is on this account that he hath poured 
upon him the fury of his anger : nevertheless, such is his 
judicial infatuation, that, although the fire burnetii him, he 
layeth it not to heart, he understandeth it not. 

But, while Israel is thus enveloped in thick darkness, 
the Lord, who, in the midst of apparent neglect, hath all 
along kept his eye upon him, who hath steadily though 
secretly been causing the jarring affairs of the world to 
subserve his own high purposes ; the Lord will suddenly 
call aloud, and make his voice to be heard to the very 
ends of the world. The north shall give up the dispers- 
ed of his people ; and the south shall not keep back. The 
seed of Jacob shall be brought from the east, and gather- 
ed from the west. The blind people shall wonderfully 
return, and they shall have eyes ; the deaf, and they shall 
have ears. Upheld by the powerful arm of the Lord, 
they shall neither be overwhelmed by the rivers of inva-~ 
ders that have long spoiled their country, nor destroyed 
by the desolating nre of war. Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba, 
which were lately numbered among the conquests of 
Antichrist, shall now become, as it were, a ransom for 
Israel * ; men shall be given for him, and nations for his 
life. In the midst of the assembled tribes of the earth, 
he shall be the chosen witness of the Lord ; and all peo- 
ple shall acknowledge, that beside Jehovah, there is no 
Saviour. 

To this prophecy, respecting the final restoration of 
Israel, Isaiah attaches a severe denunciation against Ba- 
bylon ; that is to say, the mystic Babylon, or the Roman 
Antichristian confederacy, for so the context leads us to 
understand it. 

* These countries, at least Egypt and Ethiopia, will be conquered by 
Antichrist at the era of the restoration of the Jews, (Dan. xi. 42, 43.) It is 
proper to remark, that this part of the prediction has been applied to the 
days both of Sennacherib and Shalmaneser ; but, as Bp. Lowth observes, 
without any clear proof from history. In fact, the general tenor of the 
whole prophecy shews plainly, that it must be referred to the days of the 
second advent and the general restoration of Israel. See particularly Chap 
xliii. Ver. 5, 6, 7. 



143 

When the great confederacy is broken, then will the 
ten tribes begin to be restored ; and, from this and other 
similar predictions, there is reason to think, that their 
restoration will not be unattended by miracles. Since 
both here and elsewhere * it is compared to the Exodus 
from Egypt, it is not unnatural to suppose that there will 
be a certain degree even of circumstantial resemblance 
between them. 



PROPHECY XL 

The gathering both of Jews and Gentiles into the millennial! 
church — The greatness of Israel— The fall of Antichrist. 

Isaiah xlix. 5. And now saith the Lord that formed 
me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob 
again to him ; (for even Israel shall be gathered unto 
himf, and I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, 
and my God shall be my strength:) 6. And he said, It 
is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise 
up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of 
Israel : I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, 
that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the 
earth. 7. Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel 
and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him 
whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers : Kings 
shall see, and arise ; princes also shall worship ; because 
of the Lord that is faithful, the Holy One of Israel and 
he shall choose thee. 8. Thus saith the Lord, In an 
acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salva- 
tion have I helped thee : and I will preserve thee, and 

* Compare Isaiah xi. 15, 16. 

f Even Israel shall be gathered unto him.'] I have adopted the marginal 
reading )S, instead of the textual reading nS ; both because it appears to me 
to correspond much better with the declaration of Christ's office, and be- 
cause it evidently was the received reading in the days of the Seventy. In 
verse 4, our Lord complains of his fruitless labour among the Jews : here he 
asserts, that, notwithstanding the former unsuccessfulness of his ministry, 
his office was to bring back Jacvb to his God, and therefore that Israel 
should surely be gathered unto him. The lxx translate the passage as fol- 
lows, omitting the negative particle — th c-vvec/w/etv Icucafi xfio<; ccv%t, y.xi 
XrootTjX. See Bp. T,owth in lor. 



144 

give thee for a covenant of the people, to raise up the 
earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages ; 9. Say- 
ing unto the prisoners, Go forth ; to them that are in 
darkness *, Be ye discovered. They shall feed by the 
ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. 
10. They shall not hunger, nor thirst ; neither shall the 
heat nor sun smite them : for he that hath mercy on them 
shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he 
guide them. 11. And I will make all my mountains a 
way, and my high ways shall be exalted. 12. Behold, 
these shall come from far ; and lo, these from the north 
and from the west ; and these from the land of Sinim. 

13. Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and 
break forth into singing, O mountains : for the Lord hath 
comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his af- 
flicted. 14. But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken 
me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. 15. Can a wo- 
man forget her sucking child, that she should not have 
compassion on the son of her womb ? , Yea, they may 
forget ; yet will I not forget thee. 16. Behold, I have 
graven thee upon the palms of my hands ; thy walls are 
continually before me. 17. Thy children shall make 
haste i thy destroyers, and they that made thee waste, 
shall go forth of thee f. 18. Lift up thine eyes round 
about, and behold : all these gather themselves together, 
and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt 
surely clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and 
bind them on thee like a bride. 19. Though thou hast 
had only waste and desolate places and a land of destruc- 
tion, yet now thou shalt be straitened for room by reason 
of thy inhabitants ; and they that swallowed thee up shall 
be far away. 20. As yet the children, of whom thou 
hast been bereaved, shall say in thine ears ; The place is 
too strait for me ; come close unto me, that I may have 

* Saying to them that are hi darkness, Be ye discovered ~] I think that the 
lost ten tribes are here intended. The passage seems to be parallel to one 
already considered. "They, that were lost in the land of Assyria, shall 
come." Isaiah xxvii. 13- 

f Bp. Lowth translates this verse, They, that destroyed thee, shall soon become 
thy builders ; and they, that laid thee waste, shall become thine offspring I do not 
see much necessity for altering- the common version. In a subsequent pas- 
sage however yn ought undoubtedly to be rendered thy builders, not 
thy sans. 



145 

room to dwell. 21. Then shalt thou say in thine heart, 
Who hath begotten me these *, seeing I have lost my 
children, and am desolate, migrating from one country 
to another, and turning aside out of the way ; and who 
hath brought up these ? Behold, I was left alone : these, 
where have they been ? 22. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, 
Behold I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles ; and set 
up my banner unto the nations : and they shall bring thy 
sons in their arms f, and thy daughters shall be carried 
upon their shoulders. 23. And kings shall be thy nurs- 
ing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers : they 
shall bow down to thee % with their face toward the earth, 
and shall lick up the dust of thy feet : and thou shalt know 
that I am the Lord, and they shall not be ashamed that 
wait for me. 

24. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or shall 
the captive of the terrible § be delivered ? 25. But thus 
saith the Lord, Even the captive of the mighty shall be 
taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be deliver- 
ed : for I will contend with him that contendeth with 
thee, and I will save thy children. 26. And I will cause 
them that oppress thee to eat their own flesh, and they 
shall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet 
wine : and all flesh shall know, that I the Lord am thy 
Saviour and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 

COMMENTARY. 

In the beginning of this prophecy, Christ, having 
complained that he hath laboured in vain in the conver- 
sion of Israel, declareth nevertheless, that it is his office 
to bring Jacob back again to the Lord, and that Israel 

* Who hath begotten me these?] The surprize of .Judah at being- reunited 
with Ephraiin is probably here described — Judah is to be first restored, partly 
in a converted state by the great maritime power, and partly in an unconvert- 
ed state by Antichrist ; and afterwards Ephraim, by the continental powers 
of the east and the north. 

j" They shall bring thy sons in their arms.~) The restoration of Ephraim 
seems here to be peculiarly meant. Compare this passage with Isaiah, lxvi. 
19, 20. 

$ They shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth."} Compare 
Isaiah ii. 2, 3. 

§ The terrible."] For pix read yi"\y. For reasons and authorities see Bp. 
Lowth in loc. 

19 



146 

shall surely be gathered unto him ; nor yet Israel alone, 
but all the far distant tribes of the Gentiles. Despised 
as the Redeemer was at his first advent, kings shall see 
and worship him in a manner yet more extensive and 
glorious than the world hath ever yet beheld. He shall 
cause the Jexvs again to inherit their desolate heritage. 
He shall speak the word, and the prisoners shall go forth 
at his bidding. He shall call aloud to the ten tribes, that 
have been so long shrouded in darkness and have so long 
eluded every inquiry ; and they shall forthwith be disco- 
vered. He that hath mercy on them will lead them ; 
every obstacle to their return will be removed ; and they 
shall come from the north, and from the west, and from 
the land of the Sinim *. Long as the Lord hath seem- 
ed to forget Zion, he hath still kept his eye upon her, and 
will in due time destroy her destroyers and make her the 
glory of the whole earth. Her younger sisters, the 
churches of the Gentiles, shall flock unto her ; the land 
of her desolation shall be too narrow for the multitude of 
her children ; and they that devoured her shall be driven 
far away. Even she herself shall marvel at the number 
of her offspring, she who hath so long been a wanderer 
over the face of the whole earth, when she beholds 
Ephraim joined to Judah and the remnant of Israel to the 
house of David, Obedient to the command of the Lord, 
the Gentiles shall bring her children from afar : kings shall 
be her nursing fathers : and, if her fall hath been the 
riches of the world, if her diminishing hath been the 
riches of the Gentiles, how much more her fulness ! 

Here the prophet, as usual, calls our attention to the 
fall of Antichrist, which he almost invariably connects 
with the restoration of the Jews. He asks, whether the 
prey shall surely be delivered from that mighty tyrant, 
and whether his captives shall be rescued from him? To 
this the Lord solemnly answers, that even the captive of 

* By these Sinim some have understood the Chinese or Sinenses ; but Bo'ch- 
art objects to the notion, on the ground that the Chinese were then unknown 
in the more western parts of the world. He himself supposes them to be 
the inhabitants of Sin or Pelusium in Egypt ; and undoubtedly there are some 
prophecies which speak of the return of the Jews out of that country, at the 
era of the restoration. See Bochart Phaleg*. L. iv. C. 27. p. 275. and Mr. 
&owth in loc 



147 



the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the ter- 
rible delivered ; for that he will contend with all the ene- 
mies of Zion, and save her children ; that he will signally 
avenge her upon her oppressors ; and that at length all 
flesh shall know, that the Lord is the Saviour of Jacob- 



PROPHECY XII. 

The joy and prosperity of the once desolate church of Judah at 
the time of the restoration — The vain gathering together of 
Antichrist. 

Isaiah liv. 1. Sing, O barren, thou that didst not 
bear ; break forth into singing and cry aloud, thou that 
didst not travail with child : for more arc the children of 
the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith 
the Lord. 2. Enlarge the place of thy tent,' and let them 
stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations : spare not, 
lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes. 3. For 
thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left ; 
and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and they shall 
cause the desolate cities to be inhabited. 4. Fear not, 
for thou shalt not be ashamed ; and, turn not away thy 
face for shame, for thou shalt not be abashed : for thou 
shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remem- 
ber the* reproach of thy widowhood any more. 5. For 
thy Maker is thine husband ; the Lord of hosts is his 
name : and thy Reedemer is the Holy One of Israel ; the 
God of the whole earth shall he be called. 6. For the 
Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved 
in spirit ; and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, 
saith thy God. 7. For a small moment have I forsaken 
thee : but with great mercies will I gather thee. 8. In a 
little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment ; but 
with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, 
saith the Lord thy Redeemer. 9. For this is as the 
waters of Noah unto me : as I have sworn that the 
waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so 
have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nov 



148 

rebuke thee. 10. For the mountains shall depart, and 
the hills be removed ; but my kindness shall not depart 
from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be re- 
moved, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee. 11. O 
thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted I 
behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay 
thy foundations with sapphires. 12. And I will make 
thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and 
all thy borders of pleasant stones. 13. And all thy chil- 
dren shall be taught of the Lord : and great shall be the 
peace of thy children. 14. In righteousness shalt thou 
be established : thou shalt be far from oppression, for 
thou shalt not fear ; and from terror, for it shall not come 
near thee. 

15. Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not 
by me * : whoever shall gather together against thee, 
shall fall before thee. 16. Behold, I have created the 
armourer, that bloweth the coals in the lire, and that 
bringeth forth a weapon by his workmanship ; and I have 
created destruction for a snare f. 17. No weapon, that 
is formed against thee, shall prosper ; and every tongue, 
that shall rise against thee J in judgment, thou shalt con- 
demn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, 
and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord. 

COMMENTARY. 

The prophet calls upon the desolate church of Judah 
to sing aloud for joy y because her restoration draweth 
nis:h. Alienated from God bv her obstinate inndelitv 
and infatuated rejection of the Messiah, she had long 

* They shall gather together, but not by me.'] Compare Rev. xvi 12 — 16. xix. 
19 — 21. Bp. Lowth translates the original words league together, which, 
greatly heightens the sense. Antichrist is to unite himself, by a federal league, 
with the false Romish prophet and the vassal ki?igs of the Latin earth, so that 
they shall jointly form one great conspiracy. 

j- I have created destruction for a snare.~] I have created the powers of dark- 
ness, and for a season suffer them to prevail ; but, in the midst of their ma- 
chinations against others, they shall suddenly fall into a snare themselves. 
Compare Isaiah xxiv. 16, 17, 18. and Rev. xi. 18. 

i Every tongue that shall rise against thee.'] These words may possibly con- 
tain an allusion to the destroying anathema of the beast and the false prophet, 
when they shall sanctify war and imprecate the vengeance of heaven upo» 
all their opponents*. 



149 

ceased to bring forth spiritual children : but now she hath 
need to enlarge her tents, and to extend the limits of her' 
habitation ; for her children shall vie in number even with 
those of the married wife, that ingrafted olive the church 
of the Gentiles ; and her forsaken cities shall again be 
inhabited. In order that she may not despair by reason 
of the depth of her humiliation, she is exhorted not to 
fear : because, rejected as she may be at present from 
being the mystic wife of God as she formerly was, and 
therefore mourning in a state of symbolical widowhood; 
yet she shall shortly forget the shame of her youth, and 
the Lord of hosts shall acknowledge himself to be her 
husband. Though she may now appear like a woman 
forsaken and refused, like a deserted wife of a man's 
youth ; God declares, that he hath forsaken her only for 
a little moment, and swears by an oath as inviolable as 
that which he swore to Noah, that he will mercifully 
gather her and establish the covenant of his peace with 
her. She hath been, during the days of her widowhood, 
afflicted, tossed with tempests, and not comforted ; but 
her cities shall be rebuilt with increased splendor, her 
children shall be taught of the Lord, she shall be estab- 
lished in righteousness, and she shall be delivered front 
fear and oppression. 

This incidental mention of her deliverance from the 
terror of her enemies leads Isaiah, as usual, to predict 
the downfal of Antichrist ; who in the last days shall 
gather together his forces against the converted ofJudah^ 
and plant the curtains of his pavilions between the seas 
in the glorious holy mountain. His gathering however 
is not from the Lord, but from the diabolical influence of 
Satan ; therefore shall he rush forward only to his own 
destruction, and shall fall before the returning people of 
God. Yet, although the sovereign judge of heaven and 
earth disclaims the impious enterprize of Antichrist ; he 
asserts, that it is he who hath created the armourer to 
forge weapons of war, and who hath created destruction 
itself, even destruction personified in the last great oppo- 
ser of his purposes, to fall into the snare which he hath 
prepared for it. Neither the weapons of violence, nor the 
invectives of his enraged enemy, shall prevail against 
Judah : he shall alike triumph over both. 



150 



PROPHECY XIII. 



The spiritual glory of the millennian church — The continental 
restoration of the ten tribes — The maritime restoration of the 
converted of Judah. 

Isaiah lx. 1*. Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and 
the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. 2. For, be- 
hold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness 
the people : but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his 
glory shall be seen upon thee. 3. And the Gentiles shall 
come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy 
rising. 4. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see : all 
they gather themselves together, they come to thee : thy 
sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be 
nursed at thy side. 5. Then shalt thou see, and flow 
together ; and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged : 
because the multitude of the sea shall be turned unto 
thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. 
6. The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the drome- 
daries of Median and Ephah ; all they from Sheba shall 
come ; they shall bring gold and incense ; and they shall 
shew forth the praises of the Lord. 7. All the flocks of 
Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of 
Nebaioth f shall minister unto thee : they shall come up 
with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house 
of my glory. ' 

8. Who are these ? Like a cloud they fly, and like 
doves to their holes J. 9. Surely the isles shall wait for 

* Chap, lx.] " We may suppose the groundwork of the prophecies, con- 
tained in this and the two following chapters to be the Jews' restoration from 
Captivity. Mr. Lowth in loc. 

f The dromedaries of Midian — all they from Sheba — the flocks of Kedar — 
the rams of Nebaioth.~] "They shall fly along- the borders of the Philistines 
towards the west ; they shall spoil them of the east together : they shall lay 
their hand upon Edom and Moab, and the children of Ammon shall obey 
them." Isaiah xi. 14. 

4= Doves to their holes."] They shall fly with a trembling rapidity to the land 
of their refuge, like doves to holes in the rocks. "Dr. Richard Chandler, in 
his travels in Asia Minor, has taken notice of the doves there lodging in holes 
of the rocks." Harmer's Observ. Vol. in. p. 55. See Cant. ii. 14. 

hoc (pw/ev, a$ re Treteiet, 

'H pud* v<P* \gv>im r.ot%w «»-£?r7*7» irsljw. Iliad, xxi. 493.. 



151 

me, and the ships of Tarshish among the first *, to bring 
thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, 
unto the name of the Lord thy God, unto the Holy One 
of Israel, because he hath glorified me. 10. And the 
sons of strangers shall build thy walls, and their kings 
shall minister unto thee : for in my wrath I smote thee, 
but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. 11. There* 
fore thy gates t shall be open continually ; they shall not 
be shut day nor night ; to bring unto thee the forces of 
the Gentiles, even their kings magnificently conducted. 
12. For the nation and kingdom J, that will not serve 
thee, shall perish : yea, the nations shall be utterly wast- 
ed. 13. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, 
the fir, the pine, and the box together, to beautify the 
place of my sanctuary ; and I will make the place of my 
feet glorious. 14. The sons also of them, that afflicted 
thee, shall come bending unto thee ; and all they that des- 
pised thee, shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy 
feet : and they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, the 
Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 15. Instead of thy being 

* The ships of Tarshish among the first] The ships of that particular coun- 
try of the isles of the Gentiles, which at the period of the completion of the 
prophecy will command at sea/ In the language of the Old Testament, the 
ships of Tyre are ordinarily catted ships of Tarshish, apparently from the 
great commercial intercourse between Tyre and Tarshish, much perhaps in 
the same manner as our principal trading vessels are termed east or %vest-in- 
diamen. Tyre however has long since ceased to be a nation : the ships oj 
Tarshish therefore, at the era of the yet future return of the Jews, certainly 
cannot be literal Tyrian vessels. Hence we must necessarily, I think, con- 
clude them to be the ships of soine power of the isles of the Gentiles, that is, 
some European power\tvhich in the modern world shall answer to Tyre in the 
ancient world ; hxxT^what power will accord with such a description when the 
Jews begin to be restored, can only be determined by the event. Thus far 
however we may venture to assert, from the more ample description which 
Isaiah gives us of it in his Ibth chapter, that it will certainly be a nation of 
faithful worshippers, and therefore not a popish nation. This position indeed 
necessarily follows from the collateral predictions of Daniel and St. John, 
which teach us that the return of the converted Jews shall be opposed by an 
armed confederacy of Antichrist, the false Romish prophet, and the kings of the 
Latin earth. 

It may not be improper to observe, that ships of Tarshish sometimes mean 
simply large vessels fit for undertaking long voyages by sea. (See Well's Geog. 
of the Old and New Test. Vol. 1. p. 72, 73.) The sense will be much the 
same : for in either case, the prophecy foretells, that the converted Jews will 
be brought back in large vessels belonging to the thai principal maritime Eu- 
ropean protestant power. 

f Thy gates shall be open continually.'] Compare Rev. xxi. 25. 

\ The nation and the kingdom, that will not serve thee, shall perish.] The 
overthrow of Antichrist and his confederates seems here to be briefly alluded to . 



152 

forsaken and hated and without any one passing through 
thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy from 
generation to generation. 16. Thou shalt also suck the 
milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings ; 
and thou shalt know that I am the Lord thy Saviour, and 
the mighty One of Jacob thy redeemer. 17. For brass. 
I will bring gold *, and for iron I will bring silver ; and 
for wood brass, and for stones iron : and I will make 
thy superintendants peace, and thy taskmasters justice. 
18. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting 
nor destruction within thy borders ; but thou shalt call 
thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. 19. The sun 
shall be no more thy light by day ; neither with bright- 
ness shall the moon give light unto thee ; but the Lord 
shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy 
glory. 20. Thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall 
thy moon withdraw itself; for the Lord shall be thine 
everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be 
ended. 21. And thy people all of them shall be righ- 
teous : they shall inherit the land for ever : they are the 
branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may 
glorify myself. 22. That, which was little, shall become 
a leader f ; and that, which was small, a strong nation : 
I, the Lord will hasten it, in its season. 

COMMENTARY. 

Much that is interesting may be collected from this 
prophecy. After a long period of intellectual and spirit- 
ual darkness, Judaical, Papal, and Mohammedan, the 
glory of the Lord will shine upon his ancient church, and 
the Jews and the Gentiles shall form one flock under one 
shepherd. 

* For brass I will bring gold.'] Compare Rev. xxi. 10 — 26. 

f That, which was little, shall become a leader.] This part of the prophecy, 
like many other prophecies, appears to intimate, that Israel shall hereafter 
become the first of nations, and Jerusalem the metropolis of the millennian 
kingdom of the Messiah. The elder sister, the Jewish church, shall then take 
the precedency of her younger sisters, the Gentile Churches ; a precedency 
however, purely spiritual and readily accorded ; a precedency, far unlike 
that usurped by the apostate man of sin, the pretended successor of St. Pe- 
ter. I think it accords better with the general import of the passage to trans- 
late r^N a leader t than a thoicsand. 



153 

Isaiah's attention is first engaged by the continental res* 
toration of the ten tribes, which, though second in point 
of time to the restoration of Judah, will most probably be 
first in point of numbers and consequence. While he 
beholds the nations bringing back his brethren of the 
house of Ephraim on camels and on dromedaries, the 
scene changes, and a fresh vision is suddenly presented to 
his imagination. A multitude, the converted of Judah, 
appear to come like doves, rapidly flying upon the wings 
of the wind ; and these, though last introduced into the 
present prediction, will nevertheless be restored, as we 
may collect from other prophecies, before the remnant of 
the ten tribes. From the far distant isles of the west, the 
maritime regions of Europe, the prophet beholds the 
ships of Tarshish, the navy of that power which at the 
period of the accomplishment of the prophecy may be 
considered as the modern Tyre, securely bringing over 
the waves of the ocean the converts of Judah as an offer- 
ing to the name of the Lord their God. 

Having thus foretold, that the whole house of Israel 
shall surely be restored, at two different seasons, by 
land and by sea ; and having declared, that the then pre- 
vailing maritime power shall be among the first to under- 
take the restoration of the converted members of the house 
of Judah* : Isaiah triumphantly enlarges on the future 
glories of his people and the sacred happiness of the mil- 
lennium, intermingling however with his song of victory 
an allusion to the overthrow of Antichrist and the utter 
extinction of his abominable tyranny. 



PROPHECY XIV. 

The restoration and conversion of Judah — The triumph of Christ 
over the mystic Edom- 

Isaiah lxii. If. For Zion's sake will I not hold my 
peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the 

* The restoration of the unconverted of Judah is not here noticed. There is 
reason to believe that it will nearly, if not altogether, synchronize with the 
restoration of the converted of Judah, and that it will be effected by land through 
the instrumentality of the Jntichristian faction, previous to the subsequent 
restoration also by land of the remains of the ten tribes. 

t Chap, lxii.] "The former promi#es of restoring the Jewish Church ajld 

20 



154 

"righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the sal 
vation thereof as a lamp that burnetii. 2. And the 
Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy 
glory : and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the 
mouth of the Lord shall name. 3- Thou shalt also be a 
crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal dia- 
dem in the hand of thy God. 4. Thou shalt no more be 
termed Forsaken ; neither shall thy land any more be 
termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called My-delight-is^ 
in-her; and thy land, The- married-one; for the Lord de- 
lighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. 5. For, 
as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall they, that build 
thee up,, marry thee* ; and, as the bridegroom rejoiceth 
over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. 6. I 
have set watchmen upon thy walls r O Jerusalem; they 
shall not hold their peace day nor night : ye, that mate 
mention of the Lord, keep not silence : 7. And give him 
no rest till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a 
praise in the earth. 8. The Lord hath sworn by his right 
hand T and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no 
more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies ; and the 
sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine for which 
thou hast laboured : 9. But they, that have gathered n\ 
shall eat it, and praise the Lord ; and they, that have 
brought it together, shall drink it in the courts of my ho- 
liness* 10. Go through, go through the gates : prepare 

nation are again confirmed by a solemn oatli of God's (ver. 8.) ; which to me 
is an evident proof, that this prophecy relates to a scene of affairs that is still 
future." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

* So shall they, that build thee up, marry thee.'] I prefer this translation to 
that of our English version. That the Hebrew church should be married to her 
sons, seems to convey an idea neither very intelligible, nor elsewhere war- 
ranted in Scripture. Jeremiah represents the Lord as calling unto the backslid- 
ing sons of Israel, and as being mai'riedto them (Jerem. iii. 14.) ; but I know 
not that the church is ever said to be married to her own sons. In addition t» 
this remark it may be observed, that the well known antithesis of the He- 
brew poetry requires the first half of the verse to answer to the second : the 
persons therefore, that marry the church of Israel, must answer to her God that 
rejoicetk over her. Such being the case, I apprehend that the builders up of 
Zion are the Lord God almighty, the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is super- 
fluous to remind the Hebrew student of the frequency of this plural phraseo- 
logy: but for the satisfaction of the English reader it may not be amiss to 
remark, that, what he has been accustomed to see translated, Remember thy 
Creator in the days of thy youth (Eccles. xii. 1.), stands in the original, Remem- 
ber thy Creators. These Creators, the all-powerful Elohim of Israel, are they, 
who will build up the walls of Zion, and be the husband of his people Israel. 
See Bp. Lowth in loc. and compare his note on Isaiah xlix. 17, 



155 

ye the way of the people * : cast up, cast up the highway : 
gather from the stones : lift up a banner for the nations. 
11. Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the 
world f, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy Sa- 
viour cometh J; behold, his reward is with him, and his 
work before him. 12. And they shall call them The- 
holy-people, The-redeemed-of-the-Lord; and thou shalt 
be called Sought-out, A- city-not- forsaken. 

lxiii. § 1. Isaiah. Who is this that cometh from 
Edom, with dyed garments from BozrahU ? This that is 
glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his 
strength ? 

Messiah. I that speak in righteousness, mighty to 
save. 

2. Isaiah. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, 
and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat ? 

3. Messiah. I have trodden the wine -press alone; 
and of the people there was none with me: and I have 
trodden them down in mine anger, and I have trampled 
them in my fury ; and their blood is sprinkled upon my 
garments, and I have stained all my raiment. 4. For 
the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my 

* Prepare ye the way of the people.'] " The prophet, relying upon .God's oath 
(ver. 8), speaks of the general restoration of the Jews, as if it were actually a 
doing ; and exhorts those nations, through whose territories they were to 
pass in their return homeward, to go out of their cities and repair the roads, 
raising causeways in the lower grounds, and levelling the rough and stony 
places. By this figure the prophet signifies a removal of all obstacles which 
mig'ht hinder their return." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

•j- The Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world.'] " He hath caused 
the great trumpet to sound as a signal to gather the dispersed Jews together 
(see note on Chap, xxvii. 13.;) or he hath sent preachers of the Gospel to all 
parts of the world, in order to the conversion of the Jews." Mr. Lowth 
in lcc. 

* Behold, thy Saviour cometh.] Such I conceive to be the proper transla- 
tion of the passage, not thy salvation cometh . the whole context shews, 
that a person, not a thing, is spoken of. Accordingly it is so rendered by the 
lxx, the Vulgate, the Chaldee Paraphrase, the Syriac, and the Arabic. See 
JBp. Lowth in loc. Compare the whole of this verse with Isaiah xl. 10. 

§ Chap, lxiii.] " Now the prophet comes to describe the day of vengeance. 
The beginning of the chapter is by way of dialogue between the prophet and 
Christ, where the latter is described as returning in triumph from the slaugh- 
ter of his enemies, which seems to be much the same scene which was re- 
presented chap, xxxiv. See likewise Joel iii. 12, 13, 14." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

fl Edom — Bozrah.] " The prophet seems to take a hint from some re- 
markable calamity that befell the Edomites, to describe some more general 
judgment, that should be inflicted upon the enemies of God'a Church and 
truth." Mr. Lowth in loc. 



156 

Redeemed is come. 5. And I looked, and there was 
none to help; and I wondered that there was none to up- 
hold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto 
me; and my fury, it upheld me. 6. And I trod * down 
the people in mine anger, and made them drunk in my 
fury, and I brought down their strength to the earth. 

7. Is a i ah. N I will mention the loving kindnesses of 
the Lord and the praises of the Lord, according to all 
that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great good- 
ness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed 
on them, according to his mercies, and according to the 
multitude of his loving kindnesses — 17. O Lord, why 
hast thou made us f to err from thy ways, and hardened 
our heart from thy fear ? Bring back, for thy servants 
sake, the tribes of thine inheritance J. 18. It is little, 
that they have taken possession of thy holy mountain ; 
that our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary. 
19. We have been from old time as those whom thou 
didst not bear rule over ; who have not been called by 
thy name §, 

COMMENTARY. 

In this most august prophecy, Isaiah, having fully pre- 
dicted the restoration of Israel, introduces the Lord as 
proclaiming to the daughter of Zion the advent of her 
Saviour. 

Suddenly, and almost ere the proclamation has been 
made, a new and awful vision bursts upon his sight. He 

* I trod.'] " Both the lxx and the Vulgar Latin translate this and the fol- 
lowing sentences of this verse in the prxterperfect tense, which agrees bet- 
ter with the context, where Christ is described as having* his garments al- 
ready stained with blood !" Mr. Lowth in loc. 

f Why hast thou made us ?~] " The words might better have been render- 
ed, vj hy hast thou suffered us ? for the form, called Hiphil in Hebrew, often 
denotes only permission, and is rendered elsewhere to that sense by our 
translators." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

$ Bring back, for thy servants sake, the tribes of thine inheritance."] ** That 
is, Turn their captivity for the sake of thy servants Abraham and Israel (ver„ 
16.). to whom thou madest the promises." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

§ Who have not been called by thy name.'] "Thou hast rejected us altoge- 
ther, and dost disregard us, as if we had never had any relation to thee, nor 
ever were called thy people : which sense agrees very well with the present 
condition of the Jewish nation, which hath continued for many ages without 
king or prince or sacrifice, as the prophet Hosea foretold, Hos, iil 4<" Mr 
Lowth in lofc. 



157 

beholds the Messiah returning from the conquest of his 
enemies, from the overthrow of Antichrist. His gar- 
ments are stained with the blood of the symbolical vin- 
tage ; for the day of vengeance is in his heart, the year of 
his redeemed is come. Struck with astonishment, the pro- 
phet inquires who this mighty conqueror can be. The 
Lord answers, It is I that speak in righteousness, I that am 
mighty to save. Yet more astonished at this declaration, 
Isaiah again asks, Why then art thou red in thine apparel ? 
If thy office be salvation, why do I behold thee sprinkled 
with blood, and wet with slaughter, so that thou art like 
him that treadeth in the wine-fat ? Christ replies, The 
blood, which thou be/widest, is the blood of my irreclaim- 
able enemies; the blood oftfwse, who have dared to assault 
thy people even in the midst of their heaven-appointed re- 
storation. Elate with short-lived success, exulting in 
having planted their tabernacles between the seas in the 
glorious holy mountain, flushed with the pride of uncon- 
trolled victory, Antichrist and his associates have at length 
madly rushed upon their fate, and tempted the Most High 
to bring upon them swift destruction. Alone I trod the 
wine -press; for this hath been no mortal warfare. When 
ruin stared my people in the face, when their foes had 
overflowed and passed over, when they had entered into 
the glorious land, when many countries had been over- 
throxvn, when all human aid was vain: then did I, the 
Lord, stand forth, and arise in my fury. There was 
none to help, there was none to uphold. Therefore mine 
own arm brought salvation unto me; in mine own strength 
I trod down the people. I made them drunk in my fury: 
they came to their end, and there was none to help them. 
Thus divinely instructed in the nature of the terrific 
vision, the prophet humbly gives thanks unto the Lord 
for his goodness, and acknowledges his eternal justice 
and truth. Though the adversaries have for a time trod- 
den down his sanctuary, yet God was never their God. 
But the tribes of Israel are still the Lord's, although they 
have long been removed from the land of their inheritance, 
and have been scattered among the nations. 

That this vision of the Messiah relates to the last days, 
and to his second advent, is, I think, manifest both from 



158 

Its immediate connexion with the restoration of the Jews] 
and from the description being applicable to no part of 
his ministry during the period of his first advent** 
Then, as Isaiah elsewhere predicts, he was despised and 
rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with 
grief: now he appears as a mighty conqueror, sprinkled 
with the blood of his prostrate enemies. Then he was 
oppressed, he was afflicted, he opened not his mouth ; 
he was brought as a lamb to the slaughter; he was taken 
from prison and from judgment; he was cut off out of 
the land of the living; he was slain; he was buried: now 
he victoriously treads the wine-press of his indignation ; 
he tramples upon the people in his anger; the day of ven- 
geance is in his heart; he is glorious in his apparel; he 
travels in the greatness of his strength. Two such entirely 
different descriptions must either relate to two entirely 
different persons, or to the same person at two entirely 
different periods. That they both however equally re- 
late to the Messiah, is universally allowed. They must 
therefore relate to him at the two different periods of his 
first and second advent. Accordingly, as I have just 
observed, we find the present description immediately 
connected with the restoration of Israel: whence it will 
follow, that it relates to some yet future manifestation of 
the Messiah. 

But it may be asked, Why is he then represented as 
coming from Edom and from Bozrah ? I answer : As the 
ships of Tarshish, when connected with the restoration of 
the Jews, mean not literal Tyrian vessels, but the navy of 
some great maritime people, some modern Tyre: so Edom, 
when similarly connected, means, not the literal Edom, 
but some profane enemy of God and his people, who is to 
be revealed in the last days. This enemy, as we learn 
from other collateral prophecies, will be a mighty power 
within the limits of the Roman empire, which shall either 
be the ten horned beast himself under his last head, or a 
notoriously infidel state united with that last head. The 

* See Bp. Lowth in loc. who rightly refers this prophecy to the last days, 
though I cannofc think that it has any relation to the overthrow of Gog and Ma- 
gog mentioned by Ezekiel and St. John. It plainly describes the same events, 
as those foretold in Rev. xix. to them accordingly the father of that eminent 
prelate supposes it to allude. See Mr. Lowth's Comment on Isaiah lxiii.2, 3j 



159 

rise of such an infidel state we have beheld even in our 
own days, and we have yet more recently seen it identifi- 
ed with the last head. Even now the predicted confede- 
racy of this formidable power, of the false Romish prophet, 
and of the vassal kings of the Latin earth, the confedera- 
cy of which Edom is here used as a type, is forming with 
a wonderful degree of rapidity ; and every passing event 
seems to be preparing the way for some awful crisis. 
From the overthrow of this confederacy at the time of the 
restoration of the Jews, a time of trouble such as never 
was since there was a nation, Isaiah beholds the Messiah 
triumphantly returning. 

It is worthy of notice, that the learned among the Jews 
have ever considered Edom as a type of Rome: whence 
they interpret those prophecies, which foretell some fu- 
ture calamities about to befall Edom, as relating, not to 
the literal Edom, but to his antitype Rome ; or, as they 
might more accurately have expressed themselves, to the 
Roman empire; for Edom being a kingdom, his antitype 
must be a kingdom likewise. Thus R. Kimchi asserts, 
that " Whatever the prophets have spoken of the des- 
truction of Edom in the last times, they have spoken con- 
cerning Rome ;" and that, "When Rome shall be laid 
waste, there shall be redemption to Israel" The same 
commentator applies the 34th chapter of Isaiah, which 
like the prophecy now under consideration literally treats 
of the desolation of Edom and the Lord'' 's sacrifice in Boz- 
rah, to the downfal of Rome ; and cites with marks of 
approbation the Chaldee exposition of the 9th verse, 
" The streams of Rome shall be changed into pitch." It 
is sufficiently evident indeed, that the two predictions 
are so entirely parallel to each other, that they must both 
relate to the same events. The 34th and 35th chapters 
compose one prophecy, as the 62d and 63d compose 
another. They both equally treat of the restoration of 
Judah, and the downfal of the Antichristian Roman confe- 
deracy under the mystical name of Edom. The only 
difference between them is, that in the one the overthrow of 
Antichrist is first mentioned, and in the other the restora- 
tion of Judah. R. Kimchi applies, in a similar manner, 
the whole 24th chapter of Isaiah to the destruction of 



160 

Edom and the return of Israel, declaring it to be a pro- 
phecy yet unaccomplished ; and what he understands by 
Edom he shews by his commentary on the \§th verse; 
" Whoever inquires into the destruction of Home, let him 
diligently examine the whole book of the Lord." Both 
he, and R. Solomon Jarchi, use exactly the same language 
(with what propriety in the present case I shall not stop 
to inquire), when paraphrasing the 11th verse of the 21st 
chapter of Isaiah. " The burden of Dumah, which is 
Edom" says R. Jarchi : " The burden of Rome" says 
R. Kimchi *. The Targum on the 22c/ verse of the 4th 
chapter of Lamentations is composed on precisely the 
same principle of mystic interpretation : " And, after 
thine iniquity shall be accomplished, O congregation of 
Zion, thou shalt be delivered by the hand of Messiah 
and Elias the high-priest ; and the Lord shall no more 
cause thee to migrate into other countries : and in that 
time I will visit thine iniquity, O Borne, which art built 
in Italy, and art full of the troops of the sons of Edom." In 
fine R. Abraham Sebah, commenting on the 1st chap- 
ter of Genesis, says, that, " While the sixth millenary of 
\the world is running out and drawing near to a close, 
Rome shall be destroyed, and the Jews shall return from 
their dispersion f." 

In thus closely connecting together the downfal of the 
Roman Antichristian faction and the restoration of Judah, 
the Hebrew doctors seem to me to be perfectly right : an 
attentive perusal of the ancient Scriptures, not to men- 
tion those of the New Testament, must unavoidably 
lead every person to the same conclusion. Such prophe- 
cies, as are unchronological, rarely foretell the return of 
the Jews without declaring, that at the very same season 
there shall be a tremendous overthrow of God's enemies. 
These enemies they sometimes describe as a great con- 
federacy of many nations : at other times they designate 
them by the general name of Edom. What then are we 

* It is not improbable, that this gloss might have been founded on the cir- 
cumstance of their reading Romah (man), instead of Dumah (non). The 
difference between the R (-,), and the D (^), is so trifling, that one might 
easily have been substituted for the other. 

f See Mede's Works, B, v. Chap, vii.i. p. 902, 903 ; whence these remarks 
are taken. 



161 

to understand by the power or powers termed Eclom at the 
yet future period of the restoration of Israel? This we 
are abundantly taught, in a manner that can scarcely be 
misunderstood, by the two chronological prophets Da- 
niel and St. John. At the close of a certain grand period, 
indifferently styled three times or three years and a half 
42 months, and 1260 days, all which equally mean 1260 
natural years, the last or Roman beast and his little ty- 
rannical horn are to begin to be destroyed #. At the 
close of the very same period, the power of the Jews is 
to cease to be scattered; or, in other words, is to begin 
to be restored \. At this time likewise a power, noted 
for atheism, infidelity, and tyranny; a power, which 
should spring up after the era of the reformation ; is to 
come to its end, none being able to help it, after having 
first invaded Palestine, and taken Jerusalem J. And, at the 
close of these same 1260 years, St. John declares, that 
the great Roman beast under his last head, his colleague 
the false Romish prophet or the two -horned beast (which 
answer to the ten-horned beast and the little horn of Da- 
niel), and his confederates the vassal kings of the Latin 
empire, shall be totally overthrown by the Word of God 
at Megiddo in Palestine ; and that the wine-press shall be 
trodden in a country 1600 furlongs in length, which is 
the precise measure of the Holy Land §. Now, since 
the restoration of the Jews is to commence at the end of 
the 1260 years; and since the unspeakable time of trou- 
ble, during which the Roman beast under his last head, 
the atheistical king, the false prophet, and the confedera- 
ted Latin sovereigns, will be overthrown, is to be con- 
temporary with the restoration of the Jews: since like- 
wise, whenever the Jews are restored, a confederacy of 
God's enemies, more than once mystically denominated 
Edom, is to be utterly broken by the victorious Messiah 
at his second advent : it will necessarily follow, that what 
Isaiah terms Edom must be the confederacy of the ten- 
horned beast, the little horn, and the atheistical king: 
that is to say, the mystic Edom must be, what the He- 
brew doctors have rightly judged him to be, some grand 

* Dan. vii. 11, 25, 26. f Dan. xii. 6, 7. 

t Dan. xi. 35—45. xii. 1—7- § Hev. xiii. 5. six. 11—21 xiv. 17-, 

21 



162 

confederacy formed, during the last days, within the li- 
mits of the Roman empire. And at this conclusion, they 
might most assuredly arrive merely by comparing to- 
gether different parts of their own Scriptures. St. John 
indeed both confirms the conclusion, and throws a yet 
stronger light on the subject: but the conclusion itself 
might have been equally drawn, had St. John never 
written the Apocalypse : and accordingly we find that 
it actually has been drawn, not merely by Christian, 
but by Jewish, commentators. On the whole, we may 
safely venture to assert, that the vintage, described by 
Isaiah, is the same as the vintage predicted both by Joel 
and St. John : they equally relate to the overthrow of 
Antichrist and his associates. 

I would not willingly be thought too refined and fan- 
ciful in what I am about to observe ; yet, when we re- 
collect the almost innumerable instances throughout the 
Hebrew Scriptures wherein proper names are chosen with 
a manifest allusion to their signification, it is not impos- 
sible that the Holy Spirit of God designed even the literal 
import of the names Edom and Bozra not to be over- 
looked. Edom then signifies red; and Bozra is the near- 
est proper name that could have been found to the He- 
brew w r ord that denotes a vintage *. Hence, in apparent 
allusion to the terms Edom and Bozra, our Lord is de- 
scribed as being red in his apparel, and as having his 
garments stained like him that treadeth in the wine-fat. 
This however may not be. the whole that is mystically in- 
tended by these names. As the apocalyptic dragon is 
said to be of a red colour, and to have seven heads and 
ten horns*, because he acts through the instrumentality of 
the Roman beast whose distinguishing colour whether 
pagan or papal hath always been red; and as the great 
whore is represented as being arrayed in purple and 
scarlet: so may the Roman confederacy of the last days, 
consisting (as we are plainly taught it shall consist) of the 
beast under his last or Carlovingian head, and his colleague 
the false prophet or papal horn, be denominated by the 
prophet Edom or red, not without a hidden reference to 
the same colour. In this case we may suppose Isaiah to 

* Botsra (rm:s) contains the same fundamental letters, and springs from 
«ie same root, as Botsir (tw) a vintage. 



ask, " Who is he that cometh from the scarlet confede- 
racy of Antichrist, with dyed garments from the vintage 
of his wrath? Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, 
and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine- fat?" 
To which the Lord answers, " I have trodden the wine- 
press alone : the tyranny, however diversified, whose pe- 
culiar badge is scarlet, hath long trampled upon my 
church, hath been drunken with the blood of my saints, 
and hath at length in one of its principal members openly 
defied me to my face: but now my garments are sprink- 
led with the blood of the Roman beast, and the false pro- 
phet; /now, in my turn, am red in mine apparel; as 
my enemies have shed the blood of saints and prophets, 
I have given them their own blood to drink, for they 
are worthy." 

Whether the reader approve or disapprove of this con- 
jecture *, is of little consequence, so far as the main po- 
sition is concerned. That, which was previously said, 
is alone considered as the argument, by which the Roman 
Antichristian confederacy of the last days is shewn to be 
the mystical Edom 0/* Isaiah. 



PROPHECY XV. 

The call of the Jews — The mystic birth of the Jewish nation- A 
description of the Antichristian confederacy — Its overthrow — The 
scattering of such as escape — The restoration of the converted 
ten tribes— The glories of the Millennium. 

Isaiah lxvi. 5. Hear the word of the Lord, ye that 
tremble at his word; Your brethren, that hated you, 
that cast you out for my name's sake, saip 1 , Let the Lord 
be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they 
shall be ashamed. 6. A voice of noise from the city, a 
voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that rendereth 
recompense to his enemies. 7. Before she travailed, she 
brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered 
•of a man-child. 8. Who hath heard such a thing? who 
hath seen such things? shall a country be brought forth 

* The reader will find some remarks not very dissimilar tg this conjecture 
•in Mr. Lowth's Comment, on Isaiah xxxiv. 5. and l&iii. L 



164 

in one day, or shall a nation be born at once? foV, as 
soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. 
9. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring 
forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, 
and shut the womb? saith thy God. 10. Rejoice ye 
with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love 
her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: 
11. That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts 
of her consolations ; that ye may milk out and be delight- 
ed with the abundance of her glory. 12. For thus saith 
the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, 
and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream : then 
shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be 
dandled upon her knees. 13. As one whom his mother 
comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be com- 
forted in Jerusalem. 14. And ye shall behold, and your 
heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like a 
herb * : and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward 
his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies. 

15. For behold, the Lord will come with firef, and 
his chariots like a whirlwind, to bring back his people in 
the fury of his anger, for his rebuke is with flames of fire. 
16. For by fire the Lord will contend in judgment, and 
by his sword with all flesh : and many shall be the slain 
of the Lord J. 17. They, that sanctify and purify them- 
selves in the gardens § after the rites of Achad Tf, in the 

* Your bones shall flourish like a herb.'] '* You j^eius shall recover your an- 
cient strength and beauty, and be renewed in as wonderful a manner, as if 
dry withered bones should recover their youth and moisture, or as if the 
dead bones in a charnel house should have life and vigour infused into them. 
See Ezek. xxxvii. and Rom. xi. 15." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

f Behold, the Lord will come with fire — to bring back his people.] This cor- 
responds with the declaration of Daniel, that yudah will be restored during- 
a season of unexampled trouble (See Dan. xii 1 ). It is proper however to 
observe, that Rp Lowth translates the passage, To breathe forth his anger in 
a, burning heat ; supposing- that y&rb does not here signify to render or to bring 
back, but to breathe, from 3^. 

+ Many shall be the slain of the Lord.] " This may be understood of the 
battle of Armageddon (Rev. xvi. 14. xix. 19.% where the armies of Satan and 
Antichrist are to be vanquished by the Lamb and his followers — The Scrip- 
tures do in general declare, that there shall be a great destruction of Christ's 
enemies here upon earth, before the general judgment or consummation of 
all things " Mr Lowth in loc. 

§ They, that sayictif and pur if > themselves in the gardens.] An allusion to 
the ancient idolatrous grove-worship, so repeatedly stigmatized in the Old 
Testament See Mr. Lowth's Comment, on Isaiah i. 29 

% After the rites of Achad.] Achad or Adad was the chief god of the Syri- 
ans. (See Mr. Lowth and Rp. Lowth in loc.) He appears to have been the 
Sun. His name signifies One. See Selden de Dis Syris Synt. 1. C. 6. 



165 

midst of those who eat swine's flesh, and the abomina- 
tion, and the mouse *, shall be consumed together, saith 
the Lord. 18. For I know their works and their thoughts : 
and I come to gather all nations and tongues together: 
and they shall come, and see my glory. 

19. And I will set a sign among them, and I will send 
those that escape of them unto the nations, Tarshish, Pal, 
and Lud, Mesech [skilled in the bow]f, Tubal, and Ja- 
van, and distant islands, that have not heard my fame, 
neither have seen my glory ; and they shall declare my 
glory among the Gentiles. 20. And they shall bring all 
your brethren out of all nations, an offering unto the Lord, 
upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, 
and in covered vehicles, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, 
saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering 
in a clean vessel unto the house of the Lord. 21. And I 
will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith 
the Lord. 22. For, as the new heavens and the new 
earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith 
the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. 
23. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon 
to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all 
flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. 24. And 
they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men 
that have transgressed against me : for their worm shall 
not die J, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they 
shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. 

* The mouse.'] " Jamblichus Syrus, in Phot. Cod. 94, reckons mice 
among the several sorts of animals by which the heathens practised magic 
or divination, and saith, that some derived the word f^vtrj^tov from ^s-'* 
Mr. Lowth in loc. 

f Mesech skilled in the bow.] It seems evident, that rwp has crept into the 
text from the original gloss of some transcriber, who mistook the proper 
name Mesech for a participle, and therefore pluralized it in his note, adding 
r\Vp to it by way of explanation. The word rwp could not have been in the 
copy, which the lxx used; for they justly consider Mesech to be a proper 
name, writing it Mo<ro^, and make not the least mention of any bow. Me- 
sech is ordinarily joined with Tubal, precisely as we ought to read in the pre- 
sent passage. See Ezek. xxvii. 13. xxxii. 26. xxxviii. 2.xxxix. 1. Sec also Bp. 
Lowth in loc. 

i Their ivonn shall not die'] An allusion to the valley of Hinnom. The 
whole conclusion of this prophecy is couched under "images', which relate 
not to the translation of the just to heaven, and the burning of the wicked in hell ; 
but to the placing of the faithful in a state of pence arid security on earth, and to 
the excision of the incorrigible of the irreligious faction" Bp. Horsley's Letter 
on the 18th Chap, of Isaiah, p. 97. 



166 



COMMENTARY. 



Isaiah, in the last of his prophecies, seems as it were to 
sum up, in exact chronological order, all that he had pre- 
viously said relative to the restoration of the house of Isra- 
el. He had already taught us, that part of his countrymen 
should return by sea, and part by land: that those who 
returned by sea, namely the converted of Judah, should 
be chiefly brought back through the instrumentality of 
the ships of Tarshish, or the navy of the then principal 
maritime European power, of the then modern Tyre: that 
Antichrist and his associates, who will contemporaneously 
restore certain members of the house ofJudah in an uncon- 
verted state, should at the same era be utterly overthrown ; 
and that another grand division of Israel, or the ten tribes, 
should be brought back out of all nations, notwithstand- 
ing they had so long vanished, as it were, from the face 
of the earth, and had been lost in the countries whither 
they had been carried away captive. He now repeats 
much of what he had said before, adding however cer- 
tain other particulars which are highly interesting and 
important. 

He begins with calling upon the Jews, who, in the 
midst of their long blindness, had never ceased to vene- 
rate their ancient Scriptures, to hear the word of the Lord. 
This word declareth to them, that their brethren of the 
Gentiles, who, through a succession of dark and bigoted 
ages, had hated them, and had cast them out, from a pre- 
tended zeal for the glory of God, and as if persecution 
had been a meritorious act of faith, should now have 
abundant reason to fear and be ashamed. The Gentiles, 
here alluded to, are manifestly those of the papal apostasy, 
whose descendants at the time of the end shall consti- 
tute the great Roman confederacy of Antichrist. The va- 
rious persecutions, which the Jews have suffered through- 
out Europe from the bloody superstition of Popery, are 
well known * : England herself, while she remained in 
the polluted communion of Rome, partook largely, as of 
iier other sins, so of this. Since the reformation, the 

* See Bp. Newton's Dissert, vn. 



167 

Jtnrs have been persecuted only in Popish countries : to 
th ^i therefore we may safely apply the words of the pre- 
sent prophecy *. 

But, when the Papacy shall have filled up the measure 
of its iniquities by leaguing itself with Antichrist, by 
sanctioning all his enormities, by entering into a con- 
federacy with him, by proclaiming (such is the wretch- 
ed perversion of language) a holy war of extermination 
against the converted Jews and their supporters the mighty 
maritime protestant nation; then shall the Lord suddenly 
cause his voice to be heard from his holy temple, and 
shall render recompense unto his enemies. Under the 
image of a woman travailing and hearing a man-child, the 
prophet sets forth the unexpected conversion and restora- 
tion of Judah. The description necessarily implies, that 
these great and wonderful events will be almost as it were 
instantaneous. Ere Zion hath well begun to travail, the 
time of her delivery is come. As a single address of St. 
Peter converted three thousand of the Jews, and brought 
them unto God the first fruits of their people : so now a 
yet more astonishing thing shall happen; a whole nation 
shall be born at once. It is no objection to say, Who 
hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? 
The Lord himself affords an answer by asking, Shall I 
bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth ? Shall I 
cause to bring forth, and shut the womb ? From the whole 
passage we must necessarily, I think, conclude, that the 
conversion of Judah will be sudden as that of St. Paul, 
general as that of the congregation of St. Peter f. 

The whole, that the prophet has hitherto said, refers 
exclusively to the conversion of one great branch of Judah 
and to the restoration of that branch by the instrumentali- 
ty of the maratime power; an event, which is destined 
to take place previous to the no less remarkable event of 
the conversion and restoration of the ten tribes: he now, 

* See Bp. Newton's Dissert, vn. 15. 

\ I may however here again observe, that, although the luhole of yudah 
will be restored previously to Israel, yet there is reason to believe that he 
will be restored partly in a converted and partly in an unconverted state, 
partly by sea and partly by land, partly by some great maritime power, and 
partly by Antichrist. It appears that the conversion of both these branches of 
yudah will be so sudden, as to deserve to be considered (comparatively 
speaking-) as instantaneous 



168 

therefore, preparatory to his prediction concerning the 
second of these events, directs our attention to the >er~ 
throw of the Antichristian confederacy. He declares, that, 
at the period of the restoration of Judah, the Lord will 
plead with all flesh by fire and sword; and that great shall 
be the slaughter of his enemies. The criminality of these 
his enemies had already been partly described, as con- 
sisting in a persecution of the Jews under the pretext of 
honouring God : it is now further represented to us under 
images drawn from the ancient history of Israel, and the 
prohibitions of the Levitical law. Those then, who com- 
pose the Antichristian confederacy, will be persons who 
imitate the idolatry of the Gentiles, worshipping deified 
saints, and polluting themselves with all manner of abo- 
minations *. Such a description perfectly accords with 
the character of those, of whom we are taught the confe^ 
deracy will consist. But its members, in the midst of 
their audacious attempt to oppose the counsels of the 
Lord, shall be consumed together: and God remarkably 
declares, that, while they are seeking only to fulfil their 
own diabolical purposes of ambition and persecution, he 
so overrules both their works and their thoughts, as to 
make them instrumental in gathering together all nations 
and tongues, that they may come, and see a marvellous 
display of bis glory. 

Still however, although Judah be now restored, and 
although Antichrist be overcome, we have to look for the 
return of Israel, that second grand division of God' } s people, 
which is to be brought back by land. Here then the 
prophet most fully declares to us the manner of their 
restoration. After the overthrow of Antichrist, such as 
escape the tremendous slaughter of Megiddo, a number 
amounting (as we are informed by Zechariahf) to a third 

* "The prophet mentions only such idolatries as were practised in and 
about his own time; but yet may comprehend under those heads all other 
kinds of that sin, just as the idolatries practised by some Christians are call- 
ed the doctrines of Balaam and Jezabel (Rev. ii. 14, 20.), and the church 
where they were practised is described by the name of Sodom and Egypt 
(Rev. xi. 8.). And the Jews at this day acknowledge the compliances of se- 
veral of their nation with the idolatries practised in those Popish countries 
where the Inquisition is set up, as one of their national sins. See Limborch's 
Arnica collatio cum Judceo." Mr. Lowth's Comment, on Isaiah lxv. 4. to 
which he refers us from Comment, on Isaiah lxvi. 17. 

t Zechar. xiii. 8, 9. 



1G9 

part of his whole host, shall be converted to the pure 
faith of Christ; and shall be scattered among all nations, 
in order that they may carry far and wide the astonish- 
ing tidings, and declare the glory of God. Some of the 
Jews may naturally be supposed to have been left behind, 
at the period of the restoration of Judah, in the distant 
isles of the sea or the regions of Europe, and even in the 
territories of the modern Tarshish. These now will hear 
the joyful news; and will be gathered together along with 
their brethren the children of Israel from the north, the 
south, and the east. In Palestine the two kindred na- 
tions will coalesce into one : for, although Ephraim will 
undoubtedly be restored, he will be for ever broken, so 
that he shall be no more a distinct people*. We further 
learn from this passage, that Israel will be restored in a 
converted state, as one of the divisions of Judah had been 
before him. The great maritime people, as we are else- 
where taught by Isaiah f , is to bring certain of the sons 
of Judah, as a present unto the Lord; whence it must be 
inferred, that both the bringers and the brought are faith- 
ful worshippers : the various continental powers through- 
out the whole world are, in a similar manner, to bring 
their brethren of the tribes of Israel, by various modes of 
land conveyance, as an offering to the Lord; whence the 
same inference must unavoidably be drawn. The pre- 
sent passage indeed is on the whole more decisive than 
the other; for it is added, that the offering of the dispersed 
tribes should be brought by the nations, as the children 
of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house 
of the Lord. Hence it is plain, since nothing legally 
unclean could be offered under the Levitical dispensation, 
that the tribes, so brought as an offering, must be figura- 
tively clean : and, since the two passages are altogether 
parallel in point of phraseology, that part of Judah, which 
is brought by the ships of the modern Tyre, must be 
figuratively clean likewise. 

The prophet concludes with symbolically describing 
the glories of the millennium, which will commence so 

* Isaiah vii. 8. + Isaiah xviii. 7. See also Is. 9. 

.22 



170 

soon as both Judah and Israel shall have been fully re 
stored *. 



PROPHECY XVI. 

The captivity, restoration, conversion, and union of Judah and 
Israel — The invasion of Palestine from the north by Antichrist 
-—His destruction. 

Jeremiah iii. 1. They say, if a man put away his wife r 
and she go from him, and become another man's, shall 
he return unto her again ? shall not that land be greatly 
polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many 
lovers; yet return again tome, saith the Lord f — 6. The 
Lord also said unto me in the days of Josiah the king, 
Hast thou seen what backsliding Israel hath done ? she is 
gone up upon every mountain,, and under every green 
tree, and there hath played the harlot. 7. And I said, 
after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me : 
but she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah 
saw it. 8. And I saw, when, for all the causes whereby- 
backsliding Israel committed adultery, I had put her 
away, and given her a bill of divorce ; yet her treacher- 
ous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the 
harlot also — 

12. Go, and proclaim these words toward the north r 
and say, Return thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; 
and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you : for I 
am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger 
for ever — 14. Turn, O backsliding children, saith the 
Lord; for I am married unto you : and I will take you, 

* Mr. Lowth justly observes on this: part of the; prophecy, "the worship of 
the new Jerusalem is represented by the practice of the Jewish temple ; as 
if the prophet had said, that state shall be one continued festival. It is usual 
with the prophets to describe the Gospel dispensations by the usages of their 
own times. 

f Return again to one saith the Lord."] In the Levitical law, a man, who, 
had put away his wife, was forbidden to take her again, lest an encourage- 
ment should thereby be held out to licentiousness ; but God, in the case of 
his mystical consort, the church of Israel, is here represented as mercifully 
dispensing with his own law. See Br. Blayney's Jerem. in loc. and Mr. Lowth 
m loc, 



171 

one out of a city, and two out of a family *, and I will 
bring you to Zion. 15. And I will give you pastors 
according to mine heart, which shall feed you with 
knowledge and understanding. 16. And it shall come 
to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, 
In those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, 
The ark of the covenant of the Lord f : neither shall it 
come to mind; neither shall they remember it, neither 
shall they visit it ; neither shall that be done any more. 
17. At that time they shall call Jerusalem, The throne 
of the Lord: and all the nations shall be gathered unto 
it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall 
they walk any more after the imagination of their evil 
heart. 18. In those days the house of Judah shall walk 
with the house of Israel, and they shall come together 
out of the land of the north, to the land that I have given 
for an inheritance unto your fathers — 

iv. 5- Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem, 
and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land : cry, gather 
together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go 
into the defenced cities. 6. Set up the banner toward 
Zion; retire, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, 
and a great destruction. 7. The lion is come up from his 
thicket, the destroyer of the nations is on his way : he is 
gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate, to 
lay waste thy cities, that they may be desolate without an 
inhabitant. 8. For this gird you with sackcloth, lament 
and howl ; for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned 
back from us. 9. And it shall come to pass at that day, 
saith the Lord, that the heart of the king shall perish, and 
the heart of the princes ; and the priests shall be astonish- 
ed, and the prophets shall wonder. 10. Then said I, Ah 
Lord God ! surely thou hast greatly deceived this peoplej 

* I will take you, one out of a city, and txvo out of a family.'] The miracu- 
lous gathering of the lo?tg-lost tribes of Israel seems here to be intended. 
■Sprinkled as they now are through the various cities and families of the east, 
they shall then all be discovered. Compare Isaiah xxvii. 13. in Prophecy vii. 

f They shall say no more. The ark of the covenant of the Lord.] Compare 
Isaiah xxxi. 31 — 34. and see Mr. Lowth in loc. 

\ Ah Lord God ! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people.] The Jews may 
imagine, that their restoration to their own country will be unattended by 
any calamities to themselves ; but both this, and many other prophecies, 
teach usj that they shall be severely scourged for their past iniquities. 



172 

and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace: whereas the 
sword reacheth unto the soul. 11. At that time it shall 
be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the 
plains* in the wilderness approacheth the daughter of my 
people, not to fan nor to cleansef. 12. A full wind shall 
come from those places for me : now therefore will I speak 
judgments with them. 13. Behold, he shall come up as 
clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind ; his horses 
are swifter than eagles. Wo unto us, for we are spoiled ! 
O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou 
mayest be saved : how long shall thy vain thoughts lodge 
within thee? 15. For a voice declareth from Dan, and 
publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim J. 16. Make 
ye mention to the nations, publish against Jerusalem, 
Besiegers come from a far country^, and give out their 
voice against the cities of Judah — 19. My bowels, my 
bowels ; I am pained at my very heart : my heart maketh 
a noise in me : I cannot hold my peace, because thou 
hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, and 
the alarm of war. 20. Destruction and destruction is 
cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my 
tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. 21. How 
long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the 
trumpet ? 22. For my people is foolish, they have not 
known me ; they are sottish children, and they have none 
understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good 
they have no knowledge. 

23. I beheld the earth ; and, lo! it was without form 
and void; and the heavens and they had no light. 24. I 

* A dry wind of the plains.'} See Dr. Blayney in loc. 

f A dry wind- -not to fan, nor' to cleanse.~} Antichrist shall go forth, not 
merely to subdue, but utterly to exterminate (Compare Dan. xi. 44 ) ; to 
sweep away, not merely the chaff, but the wheat likewise. For a time he 
shall be successful, and the whole land shall be desolate : yet (Ver. 27.) 
will the Lord not make a full end. " Tempestuous winds, or the motion of 
clouds,'*, says Sir Isaac Newton, " are put for wars'* Observ. on Dan. C 2. 
p. 18. See the same metaphor applied to enemies and destroyers in Isaiah, 
xxvii. 8. Jerem. xlix. 36. li. 1. Ezek. xvii. 10. xix. 12. Hos. xiii. 15. 

t Dan— mount Ephraim."} This passage describes the progress of the 
Antichristian army from the north, a matter frequently mentioned in the 
course of the present prophecy. "The rumour of the enemy's approach is 
heard first from Dan, which being the most northern part of Judea was first 
of all invaded. And the evil tidings still increase, as the army marcheth for- 
ward toward Jerusalem, by the way of mount Ephraim." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

% A far country.'} The empire of Antichrist, France and its vassal provinces 



173 

beheld the mountains ; and, lo, they trembled, and all 
the hills moved lightly. 25. I beheld; and, lo, there 
was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. 
26. I beheld; and, lo the fruitful place was a wilderness, 
and all the cities thereof were broken at the presence of 
the Lord by his fierce anger. 27. For thus hath the 
Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate : vet will I 
not make a full end. 28. For this shall the earth mourn, 
and the heavens above be black : because I have spoken 
it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will 
I turn back from it. 29. The whole city shall flee *, 
for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen ; they shall go 
into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks : the whole 
city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein. 

i. 13. And the word of the Lord came unto me the 
second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I 
see a seething pot, and the face thereof is turned from 
the north. 14. Then the Lord said unto me, Out of 
the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants 
of the land. 15. For, lo, I will call all the families of 
the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord: and they 
shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the 
entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the 
walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of 
Judah. 

vi. 1. O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves 
to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trum- 
pet in Tekoa, and set up the fire-beacon in Bethhacce- 
rim : for evil appeareth out of the north, and great de* 
struction. 22. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, a people 1 
cometh from the north- country, and a great nation shall 
be roused from the ends of the earth. 23. They shall lay 
hold on bow and spear: they are cruel, and have no 
mercy : their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride 
upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O 
daughter of Z ion. 

x. 22. Behold the noise of the bruit is come, and a 
great commotion out of the north-country, to make the 
cities of Judah desolate, a den of dragons. 23. O Lord, 

* The whole city shall flee.] Compare Zecbar. xiv. 1, % S. 



174 

I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in 
man that walketh to direct his steps. 24. O Lord, cor- 
rect me, but with judgment ; not in thine anger, lest 
thou bring me to nothing. 25. Pour out thy fury upon 
the nations that know thee not, and the families that call 
not on thy name : for they have eaten up Jacob, and 
devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his 
habitation desolate. 

xii. 10. Many pastors * have destroyed my vineyard, 
they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made 
my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. 11. They 
have desolated it into a desolate wilderness : it mourneth 
unto me being desolate, for no man layeth it to heart. 
12. Upon all the plains in the wilderness the spoilers 
have come : for the sword of the Lord devoureth from 
the one end of the land even to the other end of the land : 
no flesh shall have peace. 13. They have sown wheat, 
but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, 
but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your 
revenues, because of the fierce anger of the Lord. 

14. Thus saith the Lord against all the evil neigh^ 
bours, that touch the inheritance which I have caused 
my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them 
out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from 
among them. 15. And it shall come to pass after that 
I have plucked them out, I will return and have com- 
passion on them, and will bring them again, every man 
to his heritage, and every man to his land. 16. And it 
shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways 
of my people, to swear by my name, The Lord liveth, 
as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall 
they be built in the midst of my people. 17. But if 
they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up, and destroy 
that nation, saith the Lord. 

COMMENTARY. 

" Prophecy was a business, in which the intellect oi 
man, under the control of the inspiring Spirit, had an 

* Many pastors. ~] Princes or leaders, shepherds of the people. See Bp. 
Newton's Dissert. vin.3i 



175 

active share ; and accordingly the composition owes much 
of its colouring (but nothing more) to the natural genius 
and taste of the writer. And hence it is that such a 
variety of style is found in the works of the different 
authors of the Old Testament, all equally inspired. In 
Isaiah the transitions are remarkably sudden and bold*:" 
Jeremiah possesses less of the sublime, and is for the 
most part lax and diffuse in his mode of writing f- 

It is generally maintained, that the twelve first chap- 
ters of this prophet were composed in the reign of Josiahf : 
and they afford, I think, a sufficient degree of internal 
evidence to warrant the opinion, that they all constitute 
jointly one continued prediction. Jeremiah's natural 
style has led him to expand through twelve chapters, 
what Isaiah would probably have condensed into one or 
two : and he has perpetually departed from his main sub- 
ject to bewail the sins of his people, or to introduce what 
may be termed episodical prophecies \. Yet, true to his 
original point, he repeatedly and as it were anxiously re- 
curs to some tremendous invasion of Palestine from the 
north. 

The most compact part of the prediction, if I may so 
speak, is contained in the 3c? and 4>th chapters; and this y 
I apprehend, will lead us to a right understanding of the 
whole. Jeremiah foretells, in the 3d chapter, that, as the 
house of Israel had been led away captive in consequence 
of her spiritual fornication, so likewise should the house 
of Judah; that God however would not retain his anger 
for ever, but that the house of Israel upon her sincere re- 
pentance should certainly be restored; that the Lord 
would again marry her, and at the time of her restoration 
would gather her lost children, one out of a city, and two 
out of a family; that he would give her pastors according 
to his own heart ; that T when her children should be mul- 
tiplied and increased in the land, they should no longer, 

* Bp. of St. Asaph's letter on the 18th chap, of Isaiah, p. 78. 

\ "Jeretnias, quanquam nee elegantia nee sublimitatc caret, tamen utra- 
que cedit l6aire — In sensibus quidem aliquanto minus est elatus, in scntentii^ 
plerumque laxior et solutior." Lowth de sacra poesi. Heb. Pracl. xxi. 

* See Gray's Key, p. 378. 

§ Thus, in Chap. v. ver. 15— 18, tlie desolation of Judali by the jRcvia v. 
predicted. 



176 

&s in old times, venerate the ark of the convenant, but 
that the ceremonial law should be entirely abolished ; 
that, at this same period, Jerusalem should be called the 
throne of the Lord; that all nations should be gathered 
unto it, even unto the name of the Lord ; and that they 
should walk no more after the imagination of their evil 
heart : finally, that in those days the house of Judah should 
walk with the house of Israel* ; that they should no lon- 
ger form two distinct and rival nations ; but that they 
should coalesce together into one ; and should be brought 
back out of the land of the north into the land of the in- 
heritance of their fathers. 

It appears to me sufficiently evident, that the whole of 
this is an unfulfilled prophecy. It nearly altogether treats 
of the general restoration of Israel, as contradistinguish- ' 
ed from the partial restoration of Judah, The house of 
Isr'ael however has not yet returned : we have not yet 
beheld her lost children gathered, by some divine inter- 
position, individually, one out of a city, and two out of a 
family : the days are not yet arrived, when she hath re- 
ceived pastors according to the heart of the Lord : she 
hath not yet so returned unto the land of her inheritance, 
as there to have ceased to venerate the ark of the cove- 
nant and the ceremonial law : the nations have not yet 
been gathered unto Jerusalem ; neither have they as yet 
ceased to walk after the imagination of their evil heart : 
Judah and Israel have not yet coalesced into one people. 
The only time, when this prophecy might be conceived 
to have been accomplished, was at the period of the res- 
toration from Babylon, when several individuals of the ten 
tribes returned with and were mingled with the tribe of 
Judah : (but independent of such an interpretation being 
little better than a mere quibble), if we consider the gene- 
ral tenor of it, we shall be convinced that it is impossible 

* " The reunion of Israel and Judah, and their joint participation of the bless- 
ings of the Messiah's kingdom, is elsewhere foretold (See Jerem. xxiii. 6. 
xxx. 3--9. Isaiah xi. 12* 13. Ezek. xxxvii. 21, 22. Hcs. i. 11. Rom. xi. 
26.). And that in the latter days they shall actually return from their seve- 
ral dispersions, to dwell as a nation in their own land, is declared in such ex- 
press terms by most of the ancient prophets, that there cannot be a doubt, I 
think, of its being literally fulfilled in due time." Dr. Blayney on Jerem 
iii. 18. 



i t 



to refer its completion to that era. During the time which 
elapsed between the restoration from Babylon and the 
first advent of our Lord, we cannot allow the Jews to have 
been uniformly fed by faithful pastors ; neither had they 
ceased to venerate the ceremonial law ; neither were all 
nations gathered unto Jerusalem ; nor had they ceased to 
walk after the imagination of their evil heart. Hence it is 
plain, that the prophecy was not then accomplished; and, 
if it were not then accomplished, we must look for its 
completion to some yet future period. 

With this restoration however of Israel and Judah, 
which has never yet taken place, the prophet immediate- 
ly connects some tremendous invasion of Palestine from 
the north. He mentions it in his first chapter, previous 
to his entering more immediately upon his main subject : 
he next, in his fourth chapter, unites it with his main 
subject : and he afterwards seems never to lose sight of 
it, for in the subsequent parts of his prediction he refers 
to it no less than three different times. What then are 
we to understand by this invasion from the north ? It 
might be thought, from the circumstance of Jeremiah's 
elsewhere joining the families of the north with Nebu- 
chadnezzar king of Babylon #, that this northern invasion 
meant that of the Babylonians: but the general tenor of 
the prophecy will scarcely warrant such an opinion. Ne- 
buchadnezzar might indeed pour into Palestine from his 
northern provinces of Syria and Samaria, although his 
empire itself lay almost directly east of Jerusalem : but 
no invasion of his, from whatever quarter it might pro- 
ceed, can have any relation to one, which Jeremiah im- 
mediately connects with the yet future restoration of Is- 
rael and Judah. The same remark applies with double 
force to the expedition of Titus against Jerusalem* He 
himself came, not from the north, but from the west: 
and with him he brought only a small body of troops ; 
for the main army, of which he took the command, was 
already quartered in Palestine and the neighbouring pro- 
vinces f» 

* Jerem. xxv. 9- I Tacit. Hist. L.v. C. 1. 

23 



173 

Do we find then any mention made, in other collateral 
prophecies, of a furious attack about to be made upon Pa* 
lestine from the region of the north, at the period of the 
restoration of Judah ? If we do, we may reasonably con- 
clude, that Jeremiah, treating as he does of the same pe- 
riod, means likewise the same northern attack* 

Joel, predicting the restoration of the Jews, declares, 
that at the time when they are brought back to their own 
land they shall be violently assailed by a confederacy of 
many nations; but that God will remove far from them 
the northern tyrant, and drive him into a land barren and 
desolate, with his face toward the east- sea, and his hind- 
er part toward the utmost sea *. This northern tyrant, 
described by Joel, can be no other than Daniel's wilful 
king, the head of the Antichristian confederacy, who in- 
vades Palestine at the same era of the restoration, and 
who is destined to perish between the two seas f. Such 
being the case, if the head of the confederacy or the wil- 
ful king be infidel France, as I have elsewhere attempted 
to prove, he can only be styled a northern one with refer- 
ence to Judea, on account of his invading that country by 
land and from the north. Accordingly the infidel king, 
the life and soul of the whole confederacy, is plainly re- 
presented by Daniel, as conducting his expedition, not 
by sea, but by land. 

Since then we find a northern expedition against Pa- 
lestine, at the period of the restoration of Judah, clearly 
foretold both by Joel and Daniel with a variety of minute 
circumstances ; and since this expedition cannot but be 
that of Antichrist and his associates: we must, I think, al- 
most unavoidably Conclude, that the northern invasion, so 
often mentioned by Jeremiah as contemporary with the 
restoration of Judah, is the expedition of Antichrist like- 
wise. 

The description, which Jeremiah gives of this northern 
invasion, perfectly accords with such a supposition. As 
Isaiah represents the Antichristian confederacy under the 
images of a bird of prey and beasts of the earth winter- 
ing and summering upon the mountains of Israel J ; so 

* Joel ii. 20. t Dan. xi. 45. xii. 1. * Isaiah xviii. 6. 



179 

Jeremiah here beholds in his vision Antichrist or the in- 
fidel tyrant, that great destroyer of the nations *, going 
forth from his place to desolate Palestine, as a lion com- 
cth up from his thicket: and, as both Isaiah and Joel de- 
pict, under symbols borrowed from the universal wreck 
of nature, the last dreadful struggles of Antichrist, dur- 
ing what Daniel terms in plain language a period of un- 
exampled trouble ; so Jeremiah exhibits to us the same 
tremendous events, under the very same set of hiero- 
glyphics ]\ 

The sum of the whole prophecy seems to be this. 
That, although God had scattered both Judah and Israel \ 
he would nevertheless restore both Judah and Israel. 
That, after their restoration, they should become one 
people, worshipping God in spirit and in truth, not in the 
ceremonial observances of the law. That the Lord would 
surely pluck them out of the hand of those, who had so 
long trodden their portion under foot; and, although he 
might suffer their enemies, the northern confederacy, to 
prevail for a season, he would at length overthrow that 
confederacy, and utterly break its strength for ever. That 
nevertheless, if such as escaped in the day of God's con- 
troversy with the nations would diligently learn the ways 
of his people, they should then be built up in the midst 
of his people J. And that finally, when the Lord had 
poured out his wrathful indignation on Antichrist and his 
rebellious associates, Jerusalem should be called the throne 
of the Lord, and all nations should be gathered unto it $. 

* St. John speaks of this same monster and his popish associates, as be- 
ing" those who destroy the earth, but whom God was about to destroy in their 
turn during the blast of the third wo- trumpet (Rev. xi. 18.). Precisely the 
same language is used by Isaiah, in speaking of the typical king of Babylon; 
by whom, as 1 have already attempted to shew, we must understand the 
great Antichrist of the last ages. " He, who smote the people in wrath with 
a continual stroke, he, that ruled the nations in anger— How art thou cut 
down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations !— Is this the man, that 
made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms ? that made the world 
as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof?" Isaiah xiv. 6, 12, 16, 17. 

t Compare Isaiah xxiv. 19—23. and Joel i». 30, 31. with Jerem. iv. 23—26. 

i Compare Isaiah lxvi. 19. and Zechar. xiii. 8. 

§ Compare Isaiah ii. 3. 



180 



PROPHECY XVII. 

The idolatry of the Israelites in the land of their dispersion — Their 
restoration by sea and by land — The punishment of Judah — The 
general conversion of the Gentiles. 

Jeremiah xvi. 13. I will cast you out of this land into 
a land that ye know not, ye and your fathers ; and there 
shall ye serve other gods day and night, where I will not 
shew you favour. 

14. After this, behold, The days come, saith the Lord, 
that it shall no more be said, As the Lord liveth, that 
brought up the children of Israel out of the land of 
Egypt; 15. But, As the Lord liveth, that brought up 
the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from 
all the lands whither he had driven them : for I will bring 
them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. 

16. Behold, I will send unto many fishers, saith the Lord, 
and they shall fish them ; and after that will I send unto 
many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every moun- 
tain, and from every hill, and from the holes of the rocks. 

17. For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not 
hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine 
eyes. 18. And first I will recompense their iniquity and 
their sin double ; because they have defiled my land, they 
have filled mine inheritance with the carcasses of their 
detestable and abominable things. 

19. O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my 
refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come 
unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Sure- 
ly our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things 
wherein there is no profit. 20. Shall a man make gods 
unto himself ? Even they are no gods. 21. Therefore 
behold, I will at this time cause them to know, I will 
cause them to know my hand and my might, and they 
shall know that my name is Jehovah. 

COMMENTARY. 

Jeremiah commences with predicting, that, after the 
children of Israel had been cast out of their own land, 



181 

they should serve, in a land which they knew not, other 
gods day and night. This part of the prophecy has been 
accomplished in the case of Jadah by means of the dia- 
bolical tyranny of Popery. The fear of the inquisition 
has compelled many of the Jews to worship the gods of 
modern Rome, and to bow to stocks and stones rather 
than their effects should be seized and confiscated. Ac- 
cording to Basnage, that iniquitous court reduces them 
to the dilemma of being either hypocrites or burnt. 
" The number of these dissemblers," says he, " is very 
considerable; and it ought not to be concluded, that 
there are no Jews ill Spain or Portugal, because they are 
not known. They are so much the more dangerous, for 
not only being very numerous, but confounded with the 
ecclesiastics, and entering into all ecclesiastical digni- 
ties *." Nor is this the only tyranny to which the Jews 
have been exposed: in order that their children may be 
trained up to idolatry from their very youth, they have, 
in several countries, in Spain and Portugal particularly, 
been taken from them by order of government to be 
educated in the popish religion |. The prophecy has 
been equally accomplished in the case of the ten tribes. 
Such of them as mingled with the nations fell into their 
idolatrous practices ; and the Afghans, if they be descend- 
ants of the Israelites, are at the present day Mohamme- 
dans % . 

Yet, notwithstanding their dispersion and apostasy, 
the time should come, when their deliverance out of 
Egypt should be no more regarded, in comparison with 
their still greater restoration from the land of the north 
and from all the lands into which they had been scattered. 
In due season, God should first send many fishers, to fish 
them ; and afterwards many hunters, to hunt them out of 
all their hiding places. Throughout the whole prophecy, 
we are to observe, the restoration, not merely of Judah, 
but of the whole people of Israel, is evidently spoken of. 
In this part of it therefore we have a manifest allusion to 

* Bp. Newton's Dissert, vn. 15. \ ftp. Newton's Dissert, v n. 13. 

\ I have already noticed the manner, in which prophecies that foretell the 
idolatry of the yews during their dispersion, and prophecies that declare they 
should not relapse into idolatry, have alike been accomplished, however appa- 
rently inconsistent with each other. Vide supra Note on Proph. vi. 



182 

the two-fold return, first of Judah, and afterwards of Israel. 
Since a considerable part of the first division, or Judah, 
namely such of the Jews as shall be converted previous to 
their return into their own country, is to be restored by a 
great maritime nation, Jeremiah aptly borrows an image 
from maritime life, and styles the restoring people fishers; 
and, since the second division, or Israel, is to be restored 
by continental powers, he similarly borrows an image from 
land life, and styles the restoring nations hunters. Both 
these images are exquisitely chosen in another point of 
view likewise : as the exercise of fishing partakes little of 
that laborious search and investigation which character- 
ises the exercise of hunting, so Judah will be much more 
easily collected together, than Israel. The one will rea- 
dily be allured by the bait of the metaphorical fisher- 
men; the other, lost in the widely extended regions of 
Asia, must be hunted by the metaphorical hunters from 
every mountain, and from every hill, and from all the 
holes of the rocks. 

Nevertheless, though all Israel shall be restored, the 
Jews at least shall assuredly be restored through much 
tribulation. God will visit upon them their former abo- 
minations, and will first recompense their iniquity and 
their sin double. But, when their restoration and that 
of Israel is fully accomplished, then shall the Gentiles 
come unto the Lord from the ends of the earth, and they 
shall jointly form one fold under one shepherd #. 



PROPHECY XVIII. 

A denunciation against those who have tyrannized over Israel— 
The restoration and conversion both of Israel and Judah. 

Jeremiah xxiii. 1. Wo be unto the pastors, that de- 
stroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, saith the Lord. 
2. Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the 
pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, 
and driven them away, and have not visited them : be- 

* I much doubt whether this prophecy can have even a primary relation 
to the return from the Babylonian captivity. 



183 

hold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith 
the Lord. 3. And I will gather the remnant of my flock 
out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will 
bring them again to their folds ; and they shall be fruitful 
and increase. 4. And I will set up shepherds over them 
which shall feed them : and they shall fear no more, nor 
be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the 
Lord. 5. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I 
will raise unto David a branch the Righteous One ; and 
a king shall reign, and prosper, and shall execute judg- 
ment and justice in the earth. 6. In his days Judah 
shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely : and this is 
his name whereby he shall be called, Jehovah our Righ- 
teousness. 7. Therefore behold, the days come, saith 
the Lord, that they shall no more say, As the Lord liveth, 
which brought up the children of Israel out of the land 
of Egypt; 8. But, As the Lord liveth, which brought up 
and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the 
north-country, and from all countries whither I had dri- 
ven them ; and they shall dwell in their own land. 

COMMENTARY. 

This prophecy, like the preceding one, speaks of the 
general restoration of all Israel. The pastors, who are 
said to destroy and scatter the sheep of God's pasture in- 
stead of feeding them, I take to be, not spiritual, but poli- 
tical, pastors; shepherds of the people. They are the 
same as those, whom Jeremiah had already described as 
destroying the Lord's vineyard, and treading his portion 
under foot * : that is to say, they are the different Gen- 
tile sovereigns, who at sundry times have conquered Pa- 
lestine, and afflicted the children of Israel \. All these, 
notwithstanding their temporary success, are to be visit- 
ed in their turn for the evil of their doings. The pre- 
diction, so far as it relates to the oppressing pastors, has 
already been in part accomplished. " The Egyptians 

* Jerem. xii. 10. 

f When the whole tenor of prophecy is considered, I cannot but think 
somewhat unnatural to suppose, with Dr.filayney, that these pastors mean the' 
iatterwteied kings of David's race, particularly Zedekiah. I doubt likewise, 
whether this prediction, any more than fhe preceding one, relates at all to the 
return from Babylon. 



184 

much afflicted the nation of the Hebrews, and detained 
them in bondage several years. The Assyrians carried 
away captive the ten tribes of Israel; and the Babylo- 
nians afterwards, the two remaining tribes of Judah and 
Benjamin, The Syro- Macedonians, especially Antiochus 
Epiphanes, cruelly persecuted them : and the Romans ut r 
terly dissolved the Jewish state, and dispersed the people 
so that they have never been able to recover their pity 
and country again. And where are now these great and 
famous monarchies, which in their turns subdued and 
oppressed the people of God? Are they not vanished as- 
a dream ; and not only their power, but their very names, 
lost in the earth? The Egyptians, Assyrians, and Ba- 
bylonians, were overthrown, and entirely subjugated, by 
the Persians: and the Persians (it is remarkable) were 
the restorers of the Jews, as well as the destroyers of their 
enemies. The Syro- Macedonians were swallowed up 
by the Romans : and the Roman empire, great and power- 
ful as it was, was broken into pieces by the incursions of 
the northern nations ; while the Jews are subsisting as a 
distinct people at this day. And what a wonder of Pro- 
vidence is it, that the vanquished should so many ages 
survive the victors ; and the former be spread all over the 
world, while the latter are no more *." The prediction 
however will be yet more amply fulfilled at the era of the 
final restoration of Israel, when the sovereigns of the Ro- 
mish apostasy, who are now rapidly sinking into the state 
of mere vassals to Antichrist, shall be overthrown, along 
with their tyrannical chief and their false prophet, in the 
land of Palestine, in the region between the two seas. 

Their destruction will be the prelude to a new and 
happy order of things. The Messiah, at his second ad~ 
vent (for his second advent is here manifestly spoken of), 
will reign over his people Israel, either personally, or by 
the instrumentality of other righteous shepherds. In his 
days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely : 
and their restoration from the different countries of their 
dispersion shall then be as much celebrated, as their de- 
liverance out of the land of Egypt was in the days of yoref . 

* Bp. Newton's Dissert, vin.2. 

t Compare with this prophecy Jerem, xxxiii. 



185 



^OPHECY XIX. 

The general restoration of Israel — The restoration of Judah in a 
time of great trouble — The overthrow of Antichrist — The cer- 
tainty of the restoration of Israel, and his happy state subsequent 
to it. 

Jeremiah xxx. 1. The word that came to Jeremiah 
from the Lord, saying, 2. Thus speaketh the Lord God 
of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words which I have 
spoken unto thee in a book. 3. For lo, the days come, 
saith the Lord, that I will bring back the captivity of my 
people Israel and Judah*, saith the Lord: and I will 
cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fa- 
thers, and they shall possess it. 4. And these are the 
words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concern- 
ing Judah* 5. For thus saith the Lord : We hear a 
voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. 6. Ask ye 
now, and see, whether a man doth travail with child? 
wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins 
as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into pale- 
ness ? 7. Alas ! for that day is great, so that none is 
like it : it is even the time of Jacob's trouble ; but he 
shall be saved out of it. 8. For it shall come to pass in 
that day, saith the Lord of hosts, I will break his yoke 
from off his neck, and his bands f will I burst asunder ; 
and strangers shall no more exact service of him $ : 

* Israel and Judah.] " Israel and Judah, having been carried away by 
two distinct captivities into different parts of the world, several prophecies 
of the Old Testament not only foretell the restoration of each of them, but 
likewise their re-union after "their restoration. Now, though it be granted 
that some of every tribe did return to their own country under Cyrus and Ar- 
taxerxes, and are therefore called by the name of all Israel (Ezra. ii. 73. vi. 
17. vii. 13. x. 5. Nehem. xii. 47.) ; vet the far greater part of these were of 
Judah and Benjamin, together with the Levites (Ezra. i. 5.). So that it is a 
great question, what is become of the main body of the ten tribes, which Sal- 
manasar carried away into Assyria and the neighbouring countries. From all 
which we may infer, that this and the like prophecies of the Old Testament 
refer to a further restoration of the Jews that is yet to come." Mr. Lowth. 
in loc. 

\ His neck — his bands."] See Dr. Bla)ney in loc. 

i Strangers shallno more exact service of him.] " This promise has not yet 
received its accomplishment ; since, after the return of the Jews under Cy- 
rus, thev were reduced into servitude bv the Greeks and Romans; and at 
24 



186 

9. But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David 
their king * whom I will raise up unto them. 10. There 
fore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord ; 
neither be dismayed, O Israel : for lo, I will save thee 
from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity t ; 
and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, 
and none shall make him afraid. 11. For I am with thee, 
saith the Lord, to save thee : though I make a full end 
of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not 
make a full end of thee : but I will correct thee in exact 
measure J, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished — 
16. All they, that devour thee, shall be devoured; and 
all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into cap- 
tivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and ail 
that prey upon thee will I give for a prey. 17. For I 
will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy 
wounds, saith the Lord; because they called thee, An 
outcast, this Zion, no man seeketh after her. 48. Thus 
saith the Lord; Behold, I will bring again the captivity 
of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places ; 
and the city shall be builded upon its own ruinous heap, 
and the temple shall stand after the measure thereof. 
19. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving, and the 
voice of them that make merry : and I will multiply them, 
and they shall not be a few; I will also glorify them, and 
they shall not be small. 20. Their children also shall be 
as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established 
before me, and I will punish all that oppress them, 
21. And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their 
governor shall proceed from the midst of them : and I 
will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto 
me : for who is he that engaged his heart to approach 

present there is no place in the world where they can be said to be their own 
masters." Mr.Lowth in loc. 

* David their king. ] "That is, the Messiah ,. who is often called by the 
name of David in the prophets, as the person in whom all the promises made 
to David were to be fulfilled." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

f I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity.'] " I 
will deliver thee from thy captivity, though thou shouldest be dispersed into 
the most distant countries. And this, though it be not accomplished in the 
Jews of the present age, shall be made good to their posterity, who are be- 
lovedfor their fathers' sake, as St. Paul speaks." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

$ I will not make a full end of thee : but I will correct thee in exact measure. ^ 
Compare this with Isaiah xxvii. 7, 8, 9. in Prophecy vu. 



187 

vinto me? saith the Lord. 22. And ye shall be my peo- 
ple, and I will be your God. 

23. Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with 
fury, a violent whirlwind : it shall fall with pain upon the 
head of the wicked. 24. The fierce anger of the Lord 
shall not return until he have done it, and until he have 
performed the intents of his heart: in the end of days * 
ye shall clearly understand it. 

xxxi. 1. In that time, saith the Lord, will I be the 
God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my 
people — 3. The Lord hath appeared from afar unto me., 
Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; there- 
fore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. 4. Again 
f will build thee, and thou shaft be built, O virgin of Is- 
rael | : thou shalt be adorned t with thy tabrets, and shalt 
go forth in the dances of them that make merry. 5. Thou 
shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria § ; 
the planters shall plant, and shall sing praises — 7. For 
thus saith the Lord ; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and 
shout for the head of the nations ![ : publish ye, praise ye, 
and say, O Lord, save thy people the remnant of Israel. 
8. Behold, I will bring them from the north-country, and 
gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them 
the blind and the lame, the woman with child, and her 
that travaileth with child together : a great company shall 
return thither. 9. They shall come with weeping, and 

* In the end of days."] Compare this with Dan. xi. 40 — 45. xii. 1—10. 

| Virgin of Israel'] " The virgin of Israel is of the same extent with all 
the families of Israel (vcr. 1.). For the blessings here promised shall receive 
their utmost completion, when Israel and Judah shall again be united into 
one people." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

t Thou shalt be adorned.] Or, as the passage ought perliaps more properly 
to be translated, thou shalt pass over, that is, thou shalt trip along the path. Vide 
infra Note on Proph. xxxiv. 

§ Samaria.] " Samaria, being the metropolis of the ten tribes, seems to 
be put for the kingdom of Israel, as it was distinct from that of Judah— Taking 
Samaria in this sense, it implies, that the deliverance here spoken of shall ex- 
tend to Israel as well as Judah?* Mr. Lowth in loc. 

fl The head of the nations.] Israel shall, after his restoration, become the 
joy of the whole earth, the first of all nations; not in the carnal sense which 
the Jews expected at the first advent of our Lord, but in a sublime and spiritual 
sense. " This term," says Dr. Blayney, "I look upon to be synonymous with 
Jacob or Israel, who, beingthe peculiar people of God, was thereby exalted 
to a pre-eminence above other nations. The privileges of primogeniture are 
asserted to belong to him (Ver. 9.), which is equivalent to calling him the 
si-.ief or head of the nations ; the first-born being commonly entitled to the rank 
of chief or head among many brethren." 



188 / 

with supplications will I lead them : I will cause them t6 
walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way wherein they 
shall not stumble : for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim 
is my first-born $. 10. Hear the word of the Lord, O 
ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, 
He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him 
as a shepherd doth his fiock. 11. For the Lord hath 
redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of 
him that was stronger than he — 15. Thus saith the 
Lord, A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and 
bitter weeping ; Rachel, weeping, for her children f, re- 
fused to be comforted for her children, because they 
were not. 16. Thus saith the Lord ; Refrain thy voice 
from weeping, and thine eyes from tears ; for thy work 
shall be rewarded, saith the Lord ; and they shall come- 
again from the land of the enemy. 17. And there is hope 
in thy last end { , saith the Lord ; and thy children shall 
come again to their own borders. 18. I have surely heard 
Ephraim bemoaning himself thus : Thou hast chastised 
me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the 
yoke : turn thou me, and I shall be turned ; for thou art the 
Lord my God. 19. Surely after that I was turned, I repent- 
ed ; and, after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: 
I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear 
the reproach of my youth. 20. Is Ephraim my dear son ? 
is he a pleasant child ? for, since I spake against him, I do 
earnestly remember him still : therefore my bowels are 
troubled for him : I will surely have mercy upon him, 
saith the Lord* 21. Set thee up way-marks, make thee 
high-heaps : set thine heart toward the high-way, even 
the way which thou wentest : turn again, O virgin of 
Israel, turn again to these thy cities — 27. Behold, the 

* Ephraim is my first-born .] "Ephraim is often equivalent to Israel, espe- 
cially when Israel denotes the ten tribes as distinct from ^WaA---This implies, 
that God will restore the nation of the Jews to their primitive state, as it stood 
before their separation into two kingdoms." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

f Rachel, weeping for her children. 1 ] This is applied by St. Matthew to the 
murder of the innocents by Herod : but he undoubtedly cites the prophecy 
only in the way of application. The whole context clearly shews, that it pro- 
perly relates to the figurative mourning- of the mother of the house of Joseph, 
on account of the dispersion of the ten tribes. See Dr. Blayney in loc. See 
also Mr Lnwth. 

i There is hope in thy last end."] The allegorical last end of Rachel is the 
re-establishment of her children as a people. 



189 

days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of 
Israel and he house of Judah with the seed of man and 
the seed of beast *. 28. And it shall come to pass, that, 
like as I have watched over them to pluck up, and to break 
down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict ; so 
will I watch over them to build, and to plant, saith the Lord 
— 31. Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will 
make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with 
the house of Judah : 32. Not according to the covenant 
that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them 
by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt ; which 
my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto 
them, saith the Lord; 33. But this shall be the covenant 
that I will make with the house of Israel ; After those days, 
saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, 
and write it in their hearts ; and I will be their God, and 
they shall be my people. 34. And they shall teach no 
more, every man his neighbour, and every man his bro- 
ther, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, 
from the. least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the 
Lord : for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remem- 
ber their sin no more. 35. Thus saith the Lord, which 
giveth the sun for a light by day, the appointed courses 
of the moon and the stars for a light by night, which 
divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar ; the Lord 
of hosts is his name. 36. If those appointed courses de- 
part from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of 
Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for 
ever. 37. Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be 

* Inuill sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah fyith the seed of man 
and the seed of beast."} I will cause there to be a great increase both of men and 
cattle. Suscitabo domum Israel et domum Juda : mvltiplicabo eos heminibus, et 
prosperabo eos pecoribus (Chal. Paraph.). Seminabo domum Israel et domum 
Juda semi?ie hominum et semine jumentorum (Vulg\ I,at ). Se?ninabo Israelites 
et Judmis semen hominum et semen jumentorum (Vers. Syriac). Seminabo 
Israelem et Judam semine humano et semine jumenti (Vers. Arab.). The 
passage nearly resembles a parallel prophecy of Ezekiel. "But ye, O 
mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit 
to my people of Israel: for they are at hand to come. For behold, I am 
for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown. And I will 
multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel even all of it : and the cities 
shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be budded. And I will multiply upon 
you man and beast ; and they shall increase and bring- fruit : and 1 will settle 
you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at vour begin- 
nings : and ye shall know that I am the Lord." Ezek. xxxvi. 8---11. 



190 

measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out 
beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all 
that they have done, saith the Lord. 38. Behold the 
days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to 
the Lord, from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of 
the corner. 39. And the measuring line shall yet go forth 
overagainst it upon the hill Gareb,and shall compass about 
to Goath. 40. And the whole valley of the dead bodies, 
and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Ki- 
dron, unto the corner of the horsegate toward the east, 
shall be holy unto the Lord: it shall not be plucked up, 
nor thrown down any more for ever. 

COMMENT ARY. 

Dr. Blayney makes the following judicious remarks on 
the prediction contained in these two chapters. 

"There are many prophecies in various parts of the 
Old Testament, which announce the future restoration of 
Israel to their own land, and the complete re -establishment 
of both their civil and religions constitution in the latter 
days. These two chapters contain a prophecy of this 
kind, which must necessarily be referred to those times, 
because it points out circumstances, which certainly were 
not fulfilled at the return of the Jews from the Babylo- 
nish captivity, nor have hitherto had their completion. 
For the people, that returned from Babylon, were the 
people of Judah, who had been carried away captive by 
Nebuchadnezzar; but here it is foretold, that not the cap- 
tivity ofJudah only should be restored, but the captivity 
of Israel also, meaning those ten tribes, that were carried 
away before by Shalmanaser king of Assyria, and who 
still remain in their several dispersions, having never re- 
turned, in a national capacity at least, to their own land, 
whatever some few individuals have done. But the terms 
of the prophecy entitle us to expect, not an obscure and 
partial, but a complete and universal, restoration; when 
God will manifest himself, as formerly, the God and pa- 
tron of all the families of Israel, and not of a few only. 
Again, it is promised, that after this restoration they 
should no more fall under the dominion of foreigners, 



191 

but be governed by princes and magistrates of their own 
nation, independent of any but God and David their king. 
But this was not the case with the Jews that returned from 
Babylon. They then indeed had a leader, Zerubbabel, 
one of their own nation, and also of the family of David, 
But both their nation and the leader continued still in a 
state of vassalage and the most servile dependence upon 
the Persian monarchy. And, w T hen the Grecian monar- 
chy succeeded, they changed their masters only, not their 
condition: till at length, under the Asmonean princes, 
they had for a while an independent government of their 
own, but without any title to the name of David. At last 
they fell under the Roman yoke ; since which time their 
situation has been such, as not to afford the least ground 
to pretend, that the promised restoration has yet taken 
place. It remains therefore to be brought about in future 
under the reign of the Messiah, emphatically distinguish- 
ed by the name of David; when every particular circum- 
stance, predicted concerning it, will, no doubt, be veri- 
fied by a distinct and unequivocal accomplishment-" 

On these grounds, we may safely, I think, venture to 
pronounce, that the joint restoration of Judah and Israel 
in the last ages is again foretold in the present prediction 
of Jeremiah, as it already has been in the foregoing ones. 
The prophet begins with declaring, that, although they 
should certainly return into their own country, they 
should return, at least Judah should return in a day of 
unexampled trouble. Terrible however as that day will 
be, Jacob shall surely be saved out of it : the yoke of his 
oppressors shall be broken from off his neck : his children 
shall no longer serve strangers in the land of their disper- 
sion : but they shall serve the Lord their God, and the 
antitypical David their king the Messiah. Of the nations, 
among which they have been scattered, God will make a 
lull end : but of them he will not make a full end ; for, 
although he will not leave them altogether unpunished,, 
he will correct them only in exact measure. While they 
are chastised with a fatherly chastisement, the whirlwind 
of the Lord will go forth with fury, and fall upon the head 
of the wicked, Antichrist and his rebellious associates. 
The prophet adds, that, at the end of days, or after the 



192 

termination of the 1260 years, this prediction shall be 
fully understood: *till then it shall not, for till then it will 
not be accomplished. As the time however of its com- 
pletion approaches, we shall gradually obtain a clearer 
insight into it. Already have many begun to run to and 
fro; and knowledge is daily increasing, as the signs of the 
times multiply. In our own generation we have seen the 
rise of Antichrist. His ultimate fate is likewise predict- 
ed; and his destruction is declared to be contemporary 
with the restoration of the Jews at the close of the 1260 
years. But over more minute circumstances the impe- 
netrable veil of awful futurity still continues to spread 
itself. The anger of the Lord will not return, until he 
have performed all the purposes of his heart : when they 
are all performed, we shall then in the end of days fully 
understand both this and other similar prophecies. 

In the remainder of the prediction, Jeremiah seems 
peculiarly to direct our attention to the restoration of the 
house of Israel, which will not take place till after the 
overthrow of Antichrist and the previous restoration of 
the house ofJudah. Lost as the ten tribes at present are, 
though the figurative Rachel has long bewailed her scat- 
tered children, which in a remarkable manner are not, 
the virgin of Israel shall again go forth to the dance, the 
mountains of Samaria shall again be planted, and Ephraim 
shall not for ever be an alien from his God and Father. 
As the Lord hath hitherto watched over Judah and Isra- 
el only to destroy and afflict them ; so will he then watch 
over them, to build and to plant. He will make a new 
and spiritual covenant with them. They shall no more 
be bound by laborious ceremonial observances. But they 
shall all know the Lord from the least to the greatest of 
them. Meanwhile Palestine shall exult in more than its 
ancient fertility ; its population shall experience a won- 
derful increase; and every kind of useful animals shall be 
multiplied throughout its provinces. Thus will God bless 
the latter end of his chosen people, more than their 
beginning. 



PROPHECY XX f 

The desolation of the mystic Edom. 

Lamentations iv. 21. Rejoice, and be glad*, O daugh- 
ter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz, the cup 
also shall pass through unto thee : thou shalt be drunken, 
and shalt make thyself naked. 22. The punishment of 
thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion ; he 
will no more carry thee away into captivity : he will visit 
thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom ; he will discover 
thy sins. 

COMMENTARY. 

I have already noticed this prophecy. The Edom, here 
spoken of, must undoubtedly be a typical Edom ; because 
his destruction is connected with the very last restoration 
of Israel, after which the ancient people of God shall no 
more be carried away into captivity. The typical Edom 
then must be the great Roman Ant> 'christian confederacy 
of the last ages. Jeremiah describes the daughter of 
Edom much in the same manner, though more briefly, 
than St. John describes the mystic Babylonian harlot, f. 



PROPHECY XXI. 

The restoration and conversion of the Jews. 

Ezekiel xi. 13. Then fell I down upon my face, and 
cried with a loud voice and said, Ah Lord God, wilt thou 
make a full end of the remnant of Israel ? 14. And the 
word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 15. Son of man, 
thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, even all the house 

* Rejoice, and be glad."] The words seem to be spoken ironically. Al- 
though thquhast king- lived deliciously, and committed ramification with the 
kings of the earth, a heavy judgment impends over thine head : thy naked- 
ness shall shortly be revealed, and thy sins discovered. The style of thepaf* 
sage is exactly similar to Eccles. xi. 9. See Dr. Blayney in loc. 

f Compare Rev. xvii. 

25 



194 

of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of 
Jerusalem have said, Get ye far from the Lord* : unto us 
is this land given in possession. 16. Therefore say, Thus 
saith the Lord God ; Although I have cast them far off 
among the nations, and although I have scattered them 
from among the countries, yet will I be to them as a lit- 
tle sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. 
17. Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; I will even 
gather you from the people f , and assemble you out of 
the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will 
give you the land of Israel. 18. And they shall come 
thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things 
thereof, and all the abominations thereof from thence. 
19. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new 
spirit within you J ; and I will take the stony heart out of 
their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh : 20. That 
they may walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, 
and do them : and they shall be my people, and I will be 
their God. 21. But, as for them whose heart walketh af- 
ter the heart of their detestable things and their abomi- 
nations, I will recompense their way upon their own 
heads, saith the Lord God. 

COMMENTARY. 

When part of the Jews were carried away captive 
with Jechoniah, those, that remained still in their own 
country with Zedekiah, thought themselves better belov- 
ed of God than their brethren of the dispersion, whom 
they looked upon as outcasts, and as having no right either 
to the privileges of Jews or to the land of Judea. This 
vain confidence is reproved, and a restoration is promis- 
ed. The prediction relates primarily to the return from 

* Unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get ye far from the 
Lord.'] ** The Jews, who were left in their own country, thought themselves 
more in God's favour, than those who were carried away captive." Mr. 
J.«owth in loc. See also his note on Jer. xxiv. 5. 

f I will even gather you from the people.] " This may be in some degree 
fulfilled in those that returned from captivity, but the utmost completion of 
this and the following verses must be expected at the general restoration of 
the Jewish nation." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

£ 2" will put a new spirit within you.] " These promises chiefly relate to the 
general conversion of the Jews, when God shall pour out upon them the spirit 
of grace, in order to their conversion. Zech. xii. 10." Mr. Lowth iu loc 



195 

Babijlon; but the whole tenor of the latter part of it 
shews plainly, that it will not receive its full and ultimate 
accomplishment till the days of the final and general res- 
toration of the Jews. Then, and not till then, can it with 
propriety be said, that God hath given them a new spirit, 
and a heart of flesh ; that they are faithfully walking in 
his statutes, and keeping his ordinances. 



PROPHECY XXII. 

The restoration and conversion of Judah and Israel — The con. 
version of the Gentiles — Jerusalem the head of all churches, 
though not by the Mosaical covenant. 

Ezekiel xvi. 46. Thine elder sister is Samaria, she 
and her daughters, that dwell at thy left hand : and thy 
younger sister that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom 
and her daughters — 53. When I shall bring again their 
captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters*, 
and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will 
I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of 
them — 55. When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, 
shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her 
daughters f shall return to their former estate, then thou 
and thy daughters shall return to your former estate — 59. 
For thus saith the Lord God; I will even deal with thee as 
thou hast clone, which hast despised the oath in breaking 
the covenant 60. Nevertheless, I will remember my 
covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will 
establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. 61. Then 
thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when 

* Sodom, and her daughters.] " When the fulness of the Gentiles shall come 
into the Church, some of whom may be compared with Sodom for wicked- 
ness (see Isaiah i. 9.), then will I also remember you, who wer? my ancient 
people— The conversion of the Gentiles is expressed in Jeremiah by the return- 
ing of the captivity of Moab, Amnion, and £ lam ; and by the Egyptians, Assy- 
rians, Ethiopians, and Syrians, bringing presents to God, and acknowledging them* 
selves his servants, in the prophecy of Isaiah. And by the same analogy we 
are to understand the returning of the captivity of Sodom here, of the Gentiles 
coming into the Church." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

f Samaria and her daughters.'] "When the prophets foretell the general 
conversion and restoration of the Jevtish nation, they always join jfudah and 
Israel together, as equal sharers in that blessing-." Mr. Lowth in loc. 



196 

thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy young- 
er * and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not 
by thy covenant #. 62. And I will establish, my cove- 
nant with thee ; and thou shalt know, that I am the Lord : 
63 * That thou mayest remember and be confounded, and 
never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, 
when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast 
done* saith the Lord God* 

COMMENTARY. 

Under the name of Sodom and her daughters, the whole 
body of the Gentiles is mystically designated. Their 
conversion to the faith of Christ is here foretold; and this 
conversion, agreeably to various other prophecies, is im- 
mediately connected with the conversion and restoration 
both of Israel and Judah. Notwithstanding the many hein- 
ous offences of God's ancient people, he will still not forget 
his covenant with rhem; and, when at length in the latter 
ages they shall remember their ways and be ashamed, he 
will give to the church of Jerusalem her two sisters, the 
church of the Israelites and the church of the Gentiles, 
for daughters, not indeed by the Mosaical covenant, but 
by a new and better covenant, that of the Gospel. Then 
shall mount Zion be the glory of the whole earth, and 
the spiritual metropolis of the kingdom of the Lamb. All 
nations shall flow unto it, and it shall be exalted above 
the hills* For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the 
Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 



PROPHECY XXIII. 

The restoration of Israel- — The long sufferings of the Jews in the 
course of their return. 

Ezekiel xx. 33. As I live, saith the Lord God, surely 
With a mighty hand, and with a stretched- out arm, and 

* Not by thy covenant.'] " Not by virtue of that covenant mentioned ver. 60, 
you. having forfeited all your title to its privileges (ver. 89.), but by virtue of 
that new covenant which I will make with you through the Messiah." Mr 
kowth in loc. 



197 

with fury poured out will I rule over you. 34. And I 
will bring you forth from the peoples*, and I will gather 
you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a 
mighty hand, and with a stretched-out arm, and with fury 
poured out. 35. And I will bring you into the wilder- 
ness of the peoples; and there will I plead with you face 
to face. 36. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the 
wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, 
saith the Lord God. 37. And I will cause you to pass 
under the rod; and I will bring you under the chastise- 
ment of the covenant: 38. And I will purge out from 
among you the rebels f, and them that transgress against 
me : I will bring them forth out of the countiy>where 
they sojourn, but they shall not enter into the land of 
Israel: and ye shall know, that I am the Lord. 39. As 
for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God ; Go 
ye, serve ye every one his idols : yet hereafter ye shall 
surely hearken unto me, and ye shall not pollute my holy 
name any more with your gifts and with your idols. 
40. For in my holy mountain, in the lofty mountain of 
Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of 
Israel serve me, even all of them in the land: there will 
I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, 
and the first fruits of your oblations, with all your holy 
things. 41. I will accept you with your sweet savour, 
when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you 
out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and 
I will be sanctified because of you in the sight of all the 
nations. 42. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, 
when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the 
country concerning which I lifted up my hand that I 
would give it to your fathers. 43. And there shall ye 
remember your ways and all your doings wherein ye have 
been defiled ; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own 
sight for all your evils that ye have committed. 44. And 
ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you 

* I nut 11 bring you forth from, the peoples."] " 1 conceive this is to be under- 
stood of the general restoration of the Jewish nation from the several parts of 
the world whe-e they are dispersed." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

f I will purge out from among ou the rebels'] " I will separate the righteous 
from the wicked in order to destro) the hitter, as I did the rebellious Israel- 
ites in the wilderness." Mr. Lowth in loc. 



198 

for my name's sake ; not according to your evil ways, 
nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of 
Israel, saith the Lord God. 

COMMENTARY. 

This prophecy is plainly confined to the last ages, by 
its relating, as Ezekiel expressly teaches, to the restora- 
tion of the house of Israel, of all the house of Israel : for 
only some scattered individuals of the ten tribes returned 
with Judah from Babylon. It declares, that, although 
God will assuredly restore his people, yet he will not fail 
to visit upon them their iniquities. He will plead with 
them in the wilderness, as he pleaded with their fathers 
during the exodus from Egypt ; and will purge out from 
among them the rebels and the transgressors. 

From such denunciations we must necessarily infer, 
that the complete restoration of the whole house of Israel 
will be long in accomplishing, and that some of its mem- 
bers will suffer severely in the course of their return. 
Accordingly Daniel teaches us, that the Jews will begin 
to be restored at the close of the 1260 years, and during 
a period of unexampled trouble : and, by computing that 
a space of IS years will intervene between the close of the 
1260 years and the commencement of the Millennium, and 
by dividing these 75 years into 30 years and 45 years, he 
seems to give some warrant to the conjecture that the 
30 years will be occupied in the restoration of Judah, and 
the 45 years in the restoration of Israel. If this be the 
case, we may conclude, agreeably to the history of the 
exodus from Egypt which is here set forth as a type of 
the yet future return of the house of Jacob from the coun- 
tries of their dispersion, that but few only of the gene- 
ration, that set out to return to their own land, will ever 
enjoy the possession of it in peace. 

There is reason to think from other prophecies, that 
the calamities, here predicted, will chiefly, if indeed not 
altogether, befall Judah: for Israel as a nation will not be 
restored till after the destruction of Antichrist, and will 
be brought back with great tenderness and respect by the 
different peoples among which he has been scattered ; 



199 

whereas Judah will be restored in the very midst of the 
wars of Antichrist, and will suffer most severely in the 
struggle between the contending powers. 

Nevertheless, the whole house of Jacob shall ultimately 
be brought back, and converted to the faith of Christ ; 
and these signal events will be instrumental in causing 
the Lord to be sanctified in the sight of all the nations, 
and in spreading the knowledge of the Gospel to the very 
ends of the earth. 

Abp. Newcome seems inclined to apply this prediction 
to the return from Babijlon and the subsequent events ; 
but he is obliged, in so doing, to resort almost entirely 
to conjecture ; and, after all, is by no means consistent 
even with himself. He supposes the desert, where God 
is to plead with his people, to be one between Judea and 
Babylon. And yet he thinks, that, by the rebels and 
transgressors, those are intended, " who, after the mur- 
der of Gedaliah, went into Egypt, called here the land of 
their sojourning. Some of these were to be carried into 
Chaldea with the captive Egyptians* ; though the greater 
part were to be consumed f. Some of the obstinately re- 
bellious Jews might also sojourn in other neighbouring 
countries subdued by Nebuchadnezzar, as Edom, Moab, 
Amnion, and Tyre; and might thence be taken into cap- 
tivity." The prophet however is surely speaking of those, 
who should perish in the course of their being brought 
back out of the various countries of their dispersion into 
their own land; not of certain Jews, who were destroyed 
in Egypt, while others were led away captive into Chaldea. 
They are plainly to perish while returning from captivity, 
not while going into captivity. Nor is this all. His Grace 
very justly interprets the 4>\st verse to mean, that the na- 
tions shall consider the Lord as a great and holy God, 
when they observe his deliverance of the Jews, and their 
obedience to him. But when did any such general vene- 
ration of God take place, in consequence of the return of 
Judah from Babylon ? This part of the prediction can 
only be referred to the universal conversion of the nations 
after the final restoration of Israel, and during the period 

* Jerem. xlui. 11, f Jerem. xUv. 12. 



200 

of the Millennium. And, if it be thus referred, then the 
whole prediction must be similarly referred ; as indeed is 
sufficiently evident from its treating of the restoration of 
all the house of Jacob out of the various peoples and 
nations, among which they had been scattered *. 



PROPHECY XXIV. 

The overthrow o'f the mystic Tyre and her prince preparatory to 
the complete restoration and prosperity of Israel. 

Ezekiel xxvi. 7. Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, 
I will bring upon Tyre, Nebuchadnezzar king of Baby- 
lon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and 
with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and 
much people — 15. Thus saith the Lord God to Tyre; 
Shdl not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when 
the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst 
of thee? — 21. I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt 
be no more : though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou 
never be found again, saith the Lord God. 

xxvii. 1. And the word of the Lord came unto me, 
saying; 2. And thou, son of man, take up a lamentation 
for Tyre: 3. And say unto Tyre; O thou that art situate 
at the entry of the sea, a merchant of the nations to many 
isles ; Thus saith the Lord God ; O Tyre, thou hast 
said, I am perfect in beauty. 4. Thy borders are in the 
midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beau- 
ty. t% 5. They have made all thy planks of fir-trees of 
Senir : they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make 
masts for thee. 6. Of the oaks of Bashan they have 
made thine oars : the company of the Ashurites have 
made thy benches of ivory from the isles of Chittim. 

7. Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that 
which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail : »b!ue and pur- 
ple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee. 

8. The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mari- 
ners : thy wise men, O Tyre, that were in thee, were 



See Abp. Newcome's Ezekiel in loc. 



c 



201 

thy pilots — 10. They of Persia, and of Lud, and of Phut, 
were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the 
shield and helmet in thee ; they set forth thy comeliness — 
12. Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multi- 
tude of all kind of riches ; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, 
they traded in thy fairs. 13. Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, 
they were thy merchants : in the souls of men and ves- 
sels of brass they traded in thy market. 14. They of the 
house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses, and 
horsemen, and mules. 15. The men of Dedan were thy 
merchants : many isles were the merchandise of thine 
hand : they brought thee for a present horns of ivory and 
ebony. 16. Syria was thy merchant by reason of the 
multitude of the wares of thy making : they occupied in 
thy fairs with emeralds, purple and broidered work, and 
fine linen, and coral, and agate — 19. Dan also and Javan, 
going to and fro, occupied in thy fairs : bright iron, cas- 
sia, and calamus, were in thy market. 20. Dedan -was 
thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots. 21. Ara- 
bia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee 
in lambs, and rams, and goats — 22. The merchants of 
Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants : they oc- 
cupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all 
precious stones, and gold. 23. Haran, and Canneh, and 
Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Ashur and Chilmad, 
were thy merchants. 24. These were thy merchants in all 
sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and 
in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of 
cedar among thy merchandise. 25. The ships of Tarsh- 
ish were the songs of thy market, and thou wast reple- 
nished and made very glorious in the midst of the seas. 

26. Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters : 
the east- wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas. 
27. Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy ma- 
riners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of 
thy merchandise, and all thy men of war that are in thee, 
and in ail thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall 
fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin *. 

* Thy mariners — thy men of war — shall Jail into the midst of the seas in the 
tlay of thy ruin.'] The whole Antichristian confederacy of the beast, the infidel 
ting, and the vassal sovereigns of the Latin earth, shall be destroyed along 1 with 
the false prophet in one and the same season of unexampled trouble. 

26 



202 

28. Thy suburbs shall shake* at the sound of the cry 
of thy pilots. 29. And all, that handle the oar, the ma- 
riners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from 
their ships, they shall stand upon the land; 30. And 
shall lift up their voice over thee, and shall cry bitterly, 
and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow 
themselves in the ashes. 31. And they shall make them- 
selves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, 
and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart, and 
bitter wailing. 32. And in their wailing they shall take 
up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, What 
city is like Tyre, like the destroyed in the midst of the 
sea ? 33. When thy wares went forth out of the seas, 
thou filledst many people ; thou didst enrich the kings 
of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and thy mer- 
chandise. 34. In the time when thou shalt be broken by 
the seas in the depths of the waters, thy merchandise and 
all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall. 35. All 
the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, 
and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be trou- 
bled in their countenance. 36. The merchants among the 
people shall hiss at thee : thou shalt be a terror, and ne- 
ver shalt be any more. 

xxviii. I. And the word of the Lord came unto me*, 
saying : 2. Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre, 
Thus saith the Lord God ; Because thine heart is lifted 
up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of 
God f in the midst of the seas ; yet thou art a man, and 
not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: 
3, Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel ; there is no se- 
cret that they can hide from thee. 4. With thy wisdom 
and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee rich- 
es, and hast gotten silver and gold into thy treasures : 
5. By thy great wisdom and by thy traffic thou hast in- 

* Thy suburbs shall shake.'] The fall of Babylon shall be felt in'the most re- 
mote parts of her spiritual empire. 

f / sit in the seat ofGod.~\ The man of sin, who is described in a manner 
precisely similar, is, " in profession," as Bp. Newton observes, " a Christian, 
and a Christian Bishop. His bitting in the temple of God plainly implies his 
having 1 his seat or cathedra in the Christian church : and he sitteth there as 
God, especially at his inauguration, when he sitteth upon the high altar in St. 
Peter's church, and maketh the table of the Lord his footstool, and in that 
position receiveth adoration. Bp. Newton's Dissert. XXix/* 



203 

creased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of 
thy riches : 6. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; be- 
cause thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God ; 7. Be- 
hold therefore, I will bring the strangers upon thee, the 
terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords 
against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile 
thy brightness : 8. They shall bring thee down to the 
pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in 
the midst of the seas. 9. Wilt thou yet say before him 
that slayeth thee, I am God : but thou shalt be a man, and 
no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee. 10. Thou 
shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised, by the hand of 
the strangers : for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. 
11. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying; 
12. Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of 
Tyre, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God : 
Thou art like a signet of curious engraving * ; thou art 
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13. Thou hast 
been in Eden the garden of God : every precious stone 
is thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the 
beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the eme- 
rald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of 
thy tabrets and thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day 
that thou wast created. 14. Thou art the anointed che- 
rub that spreadeth a veil ; and I have permitted thee : 
thou wast in the holy mountain of God ; in the midst of 
the stones of fire t thou walkedst up and down. 15. Thou 

* Thou art like a signet of curious engraving.'] " See Jerem. xxii. 24. Hag" 
ii. 23. Houbigant observes, that all the ancients read rvwn shnilitudinis .• hoc 
est effigiem habens in sculptura sua. This is also the reading- of eigiit M.S.S. 
and of three originally. Dathius renders, Tu es annuius dene figuratus" 
Abp. Newcome in loc. 

St; ct7r6<rppxyi<r/Ax of^otuo-eu^. (lxx.) Tu sigillum es exemplaris. (Vers : 
Syriac:) Tu signaculum similitudinis. (Vers: Arab : et Vulg :) Tu similis en 
vasi figurato, quodscite compositu?n est et absolutum in pulchritudine sua. Chald. 
Paraph . 

f The stones of fire. ~\ An allusion to the Urim and Thummim. Tlie Pope 
pretends to the same oracular infallibility of decision in the Christian church, 
that the Jewish high-priest by his supernatural intercourse with God really 
possessed in the Levitical church. Josephus maintains, that the Urim and 
Thummim were the precious stones of the high-priest's breast plate, Which 
discovered the will of God by their extraordinary lustre, thereby predicting 
the success of events to those who consulted them : for, when these stones 
gave no extraordinary lustre, it was concluded that God did not approve of 
the matter in question. He adds, that it was 200 years, at the time of hi* 
writing, since these stones had left off shewing this lustre. (Ant. L. iii. C. 8.> 



204 

wast perfect* in thy ways from the day that thou wast 
created, till iniquity was found in thee. 16. By the mul- 
titude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of 
thee with violence, and thou hast sinned : therefore I will 
cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God, and I 
will destroy thee, O cherub that spreadest a veil, from 
the midst of the stones of fire. 17. Thine heart was lift- 
ed up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy 
wisdom by reason of thy brightness : I will cast thee to 
the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may be- 
hold thee. 18. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the 
multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traf- 
fic : therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of 
thee, it shall devour thee ; and I will bring thee to ashes 
upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. 
19. All they that know thee among the people shall be 
astonished at thee : thou shait be a terror, and never shalt 
thou be any more. 

20. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying ; 
21. Son of man, set thy face against Zidonf, and prophe- 

It is possible however, that this passage may relate, not only to the oracu* 
tar infallability of the Pope, but likewise to his universal episcopacy. An ex- 
pression, somewhat similar to that of walking up and down in the midst of the 
stones of fire, occurs in the Apocalypse. " These things saith he, that holdeth 
the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven 
golden candlesticks." (Rev. ii. 1.) That is to say, according to the expla- 
nation of Archdeacon Woodhouse, " The supreme head of the Christian 
church is now in the act of visiting and superintending. To the church of 
Ephesus, with which he begins, he represents himself in that character an 
office, as walking amidst his churches, and directing and supporting thed 
teachers." (Apoc. translated, p 44.) Perhaps. therefore the circumstance \y 
* the mystical Tyrian prince's walking up and down in the midst of the stones of fire 
may denote the universal episcopacy of the pretended vicar of Christ, who claims 
the right of superintending or walking amidst all the churches. In this case, 
the passage would be exactly parallel to that, wherein Daniel represents the 
little papal horn as having eyes like the eyes of a man. " By its eyes," says 
Sir Isaac Newton, "it was a seer ; and, by its mouth speaking great things 
and changing times and laws, it was a prophet — A seer, £fl-/ lottos, is a bishop 
in the literal sense of the word ; and this church claims the universal bishop- 
ric." Observ. on Dan. C 7. 

* Thou wast perfect. ,] Thou wast Thummim: a sort of play upon the word 
Thummim, in its sense of perfection, not unusual among the sacred writers. 
■j-.Se* thy face against Zidon.~\ If Zidon mean something different from 
Tyre, which perhaps is not very probable, we may suppose it to typify the 
smaller spiritually^ trading states in close connection with Rome ; such as the 
German ecclesiastical electorates, episcopal principalities, and monastic baronies. 
1 think however, that this distinction is a needless refinement. Tyre was the 
daughter of Zidon, and they are always represented as most closelv connect- 
ed together. 



205 

sy against her. 22. And say, Thus saith the Lord God ; 
Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon ; and I will be glorifi- 
ed in the midst of thee : and they shall know, that I am 
the Lord, when I shall have executed judgments in her, 
and shall be sanctified ill her. 23. For I will send pesti- 
lence into her, and blood into her streets ; and the wound- 
ed shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon 
her on every side ; and they shall know, that I am the 
Lord. 24. And unto the house of Israel there shall be 
no more a thorn which causeth to rankle, nor a sharp 
thorn that causeth to ulcerate, of all that are round about 
them that despised them ; and they shall know, that I am 
the Lord God. 

25. Thus saith the Lord God; When I shall have 
gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom 
they have been scattered, and shall be sanctified in them 
in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in the 
land which I have given unto my servant, unto Jacob. 
26. And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build 
houses, and plant vineyards; yea they shall dwell with 
confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all 
those that despise them round about them ; and they shall 
know that I am the Lord their God. 

COMMENTARY. ^ 

In the 26th chapter, Ezekiel undoubtedly speaks of 
the overthrow of the literal Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar ; 
but, in the 27th and 28th chapters, he cannot mean the 
literal Tyre and its prince, because their predicted over- 
throw is immediately connected with the Restoration of 
Israel *. Nor is this the only reason : the character of 
the prince is totally inapplicable to any real sovereign of 
ancient Tyre. He is represented as having been once a 
faithful worshipper, and as having afterwards apostatized ; 
as having been in the holy mountain and paradise of 

* See Ezek. xxviii. 24, 25, 36. Mr. Lowth, commenting on the passage 
there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, justly observes, - 
that "the following- verse shews that this promise chiefly relates to the gene- 
ral restoration of the Jews, when all the enemies of God's church ami truth 
are vanquished and subdued ; often denoted in the prophetical writings by 
the names of Edom, Moab, and other neighbouring countries, who upon all 
•ccasions shewed their spite and ill will against the Jews." 



206 * 

God, or the true church of upright believers ; as having 
once been perfect in his ways ; and as having at length 
defiled his sanctuaries by the multitude of his iniqui- 
ties and the iniquity of his traffic, or, in other words, 
as having debased his originally pure worship of God by 
some iniquitous dealings which the prophet compares to 
a fraudulent and base trade. In all this we can perceive 
no resemblance to the character of the ancient Tynan 
sovereigns. Whatever notions of the true God Hiram 
might have learned by his intercourse with Solomon, his 
kingdom by the universal consent of history was ido- 
latrous from the very first * ; and, whatever worship 
Hiram might pay to Jehovah, we have little reason to 
doubt that he mingled it with the worship of his national 
deities. But, let this be as it may, it is of very little mo- 
ment to the present question ; for the overthrow of Tyro 
and its prince, being (as I have already observed) mani- 
festly connected with the restoration of Israel^ which is 
yet future, cannot possibly relate to the overthrow of the 
literal Tyre either by Nebuchadnezzar or Alexander 
which is long since past. If then it cannot relate to the 
overthrow of the literal Tyre and its prince, it must relate 
to the overthrow of some power and some potentate at the 
era of the restoration of Israel, considered by the prophet 
as antitypical to ancient Tyre and its prince. 

Here therefore the question is, What power and what 
prince, at the time of the end, can we reasonably suppose 
to be intended in this typical prediction, to which Eze- 
kiel, after the manner of the ancient prophets %, glides as 
it were insensibly from his literal prediction respecting 
the overthrow* of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar ? 

The first idea, that will probably strike the reader, is, 

* See Herod. Hist. L. ii C. 44. Ver. 23, 24. f See Chap, xxviii 

t Similar instances of double prophecy occur in Isaiah xiii. xiv. 1 — 27. and 
Zephaniah ii. 13 — 15. iii. This last prediction will be discussed hereafter in 
its proper place. Mr. Lowth, when treating of Isaiah x. 20, very justly ob- 
serves, that "it is usual with the prophets, when they foretell some extra- 
ordinary event in or near their own times, to carry their views on farther. 
and point at some greater deliverance which God shall vouchsafe to his people 
in the latter ages of the world." Much the same remark is made by Bp. 
Hurd. " The style of the prophet so adapts itself to this double prospect, as 
to paint the near and subordinate event in terms that emphatically represent 
the distant and more considerable.'* 



207 

that the antitypical Tyre must be the great maritime and 
commercial nation, so frequently pointed out, either more 
or less directly, as taking a very active part in the trou- 
bles of the last ages, and in the first restoration of the 
Jewish part of the Israelitish people : more especially 
since, if this maritime power itself be no where else pre- 
cisely styled Tyre, its navy is undoubtedly typified by 
the Tyrian ships of Tarshish *. 

This idea, however probable at the first sight, is cer- 
tainly erroneous. The antitypical Tyre is to be utterly 
destroyed at the era of the restoration: the great maritime 
power is not then to be destroyed, but is to be success- 
fully engaged in accomplishing that very restoration. 
The antitypical Tyre is plainly described as a persecutor, 
as the principal persecutor, of the Jexvs; for, when it is 
overthrown, then the rankling and ulcerating thorn shall 
cease for ever to afflict the children of Israel : the great 
maritime power is employed in the honourable office of 
carrying God's message to his people ; of taking them 
under the shadow of its wings ; and of bringing their 
sons from far, not spoiled, but their gold and silver with 
them, in a navy that securely bids defiance to all the op- 
position of their enemies |. The antitypical Tyre is some 
state or empire, that once professed pure religion, but at 
the era of the restoration had notoriously apostatized from 
it : the great maritime power is plainly a nation of faith- 
ful worshippers, as sufficiently appears from the prophe- 
cies respecting it that have been already considered. Fi- 
nally, Daniel and St. John give us jointly a very full list 
of all the states and superstitions that are to be over- 
thrown together at the close of the 1260 years, which 
Daniel assures us is likewise the era of the incipient res- 
toration of Judah and Israel. These are the ten-horned 
beast under its last head, or the papal Roman empire under 
the line of the Carlovingian princes ; its little horn, which 
is the same as the second apocalyptic beast and false pro- 
phet, or the spiritual empire of the Papacy ; the infidel 
king, or Antichristian France, now identified with the 
fast head of the Roman beast ; the kings of the earth, or 

* Isaiah Ix. 9. \ Sec Tsainli wiii. and 1x. 8, 9 



208 

the vassal sovereigns of the Latin empire ; and the little 
horn of the he-goat, or the false religion of Mohammed*. 
Now among all these we find not a single power, that at 
all answers to the character of the great maritime nation 
of faithful worshippers ; and we further find it implied, 

* One great branch of Mohammedism, the Turkish empire, will be over- 
thrown under the sixth apocalyptic vial, and therefore previous to the destruc- 
tion of the Antichristian confederacy, which will take place under the seventh : 
and, as for the religion of Mohammed itself, I cannot find any positive declara- 
tion that the professors of it will, in a national capacity, join the armies of Me in- 
fidel k^ing. Daniel speaks of it, as being", at the time of the end, broken without 
hand, (Dan. viii. 17, 25.) This expression is ambiguous: and may either mean, 
that it shall be (as it were) practically confuted and silenced by the manifes- 
tation of Christ, against whom Mohammed had presumed to stand up (Com- 
pare Dan. ii. 34, 35, 44, 45.) ; or it may mean, that it shall gradually tall away 
to nothing by the desertion of its votaries, and thus die a sort of natural death. 
The exhaustion of the onystic Euphrates will no doubt greatly weaken it : and 
it is a remarkable circumstance, even in these eventful times, that a sect has 
lately made its appearance in the very country of the false Arabian prophet, 
which threatens no less than the destruction of his religion itself. The Waha- 
bees are infidels ; and their numbers are daily increasing. Their opinions have 
been propagated near sixty years ; and they at length find themselves strong 
enough to take up arms in their defence. It is said, that they occupy the 
greatest part of the country which extends from Medina to the Euphrates. 
Their last exploit, of which we have recently received an account, shews 
their decided hostility to Mohammedism in a very striking point of view. 
Having reinforced their army from the desert, and having overwhelmed the 
whole adjacent country, they suddenly assaulted and took the city of Medina 
with infinite bloodshed and devastation. They set fire to it in various places ; 
destroyed the mosques, after having ransacked them of their valuable shrines 
and treasures ; and completely demolished the tomb of the [prophet. Some 
thousands of females of the first rank were carried off by the besiegers into 
the desert, with a number of the principal male inhabitants. A troop of 
camels was also sent away with jewels and other treasure to an immense 
amount. See Morning Post, Feb. 22, 1806. 

The following account of the Wahabees is given in a very curious work re- 
cently published by Mr. Waring. 

" The founder of this religion, Ubdool Wuhab, was a native of Ujunu, a 
town in the province of Ool Urud. Some have been of opinion, that Moo la 
Moohummud, the son of Ubdool Wuhab, was the first person who promulgat- 
ed doctrines subversive of the Mussulman faith. However this may be, it is 
certain that one or other of these persons was the founder of the religion of 
the Wuhabees ; and the name inclines me to believe Ubdool Wuhab. Both 
these persons were great travellers. They studied undar the principal Mo- 
hammedan doctors at Bussora and at Bagdad ; and afterwards went to Da- 
mascus, where Ubdool Wuhab first began to avow his religious principles. 
The priests were alarmed at the tendency of his doctrines ; he was obliged 
to fly from this city ; and, on his arrival at Mousul, he publicly supported the 
purity, excellence, and orthodoxy, of his tenets. This new religion, which 
had sprung up in the midst of Arabia, excited the attention and roused the 
indignation of the orthodox Sheikhs, who could not bear the notion of the 
Wuhabees ridiculing with contempt the legends and tales which they so con- 
scientiously believed. The Wuhabees are accused of professing the follow- 
ing belief: That there is one just and wise God ; that all those persons called pro- 
phets are only to be considered as just and virtuous men ,■ and that there never 
existed an inspired work nor an i?ispired writer. A party of the Wuhabees last 



209 

that all, who have come out of the mystic Babylon and 
have separated themselves from her, shall not partake of 
her plagues*. Such being the case, and such likewise 

year (1302) attacked Kurbulu, celebrated among- the Persians as being the 
burial place of the sons of Ali ; destroyed the tombs ; and plundered the town 
and pilgrims. I met several of the people who had been there at that period, 
and they all agreed in complaining most bitterly of the cruelty of the reform- 
ers. It must be recollected that the destruction of the holy sepulchres would 
alone be considered as an enormous act of impiety and cruelty. The force 
of the Wuhabees is very considerable, probably eighty or ninety thousand ; 
and, as their expeditions are conducted with great celerity and secrecy, they 
keep all the neighbouring countries in perpetual apprehension. — Since finish- 
ing this, intelligence has been received of their having attacked and plunder- 
ed Tyeej, Mecca, and Medina. They have, in consequence, violated the sacred 
law which forbids armed men approaching within a certain distance of the 
temple. Thus have they destroyed the foundation stone of Mohammedism ,- 
and this mighty fabric, which at one period bade defiance to all Europe, falls, 
on the first attack, at the feet of an Arab reformer. The event may make a 
great change in the Mohammedan world ; for it appears to me almost certain, 
that the pilgrimages to Mecca have had nearly as great an effect in support- 
ing this religion as the first victories and conquests of Mohammed— The 
Wuhabees are now a considerable people, sufficiently powerful to resist the 
divided efforts of the Turks, whose power in Arabia must decrease in pro- 
portion to the aggrandisement of this roving race of reformers. Indeed the 
Turks have already found it expedient to court and even purchase the friend- 
ship of their Arab subjects. They have extended their depredations over the 
greatest part of Arabia ; the fate of Bassora may be said to depend upon the 
clemency of the conqueror, or rather on his being' engaged in other pursuits. 
Many places in the Red sea have been obliged to purchase the good will of 
the reformer." Tour to Sheeraz, p. 119—125. 

In the time of Niebuhr this sect of infidels was in its infancy. " Some time 
since," says he, "a new religion sprang up in the district of El A red. It has 
already produced a revolution in the government of Arabia, and will probably 
hereafter influence the state of this country still farther. The founder of 
this religion was one Abd ul Wahheb, a native of Aijaene, a town in the district 
of El Ared— Abdul Wahheb taught, that God is the only object of worship 
and invocation, as the creator and governor of the world. He forbade the 
invocation of saints and the very mentioning of Mohammed or any other pro- 
phet in prayer, as practices savouring of idolatry. He considered Moham- 
med, Jesus Christ, Moses, and many others respected by the Sunnites in the 
character of prophets, as merely great men whose history might be read with 
improvement ; denying, that any book had ever been written by divine inspi- 
ration, or brought down from heaven by the angel Gabriel." Travels, vol. ii. 
p. 131, 134. 

It is a remarkable circumstance, that, as the two apostasies of Popery and 
Mohammedism arose together in the same year and attained their zenith at 
the same period, so Voltaire should have begun systematically to propagate 
his infidel principles in the west exactly about the same time that Abdul 
Wahheb began to advance nearly the same doctrines in the east. So many 
curious coincidences serve to confirm my opinion, that Daniel's tivo little 
horns are the two apostasies of Popery and Mohammedism, and that the year 
606 is the most probable date of the 1260 years. 

Should the sect of the Wahabees continue to increase in numbers, Moham- 
medism must fall eventually by mere force of opinion. If its votaries gradu- 
ally abandon it, we may easily conceive how, at the time of the end, it will be 
broken without hand. 

* " Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and 
that ye receive not of her plagues" (Rev. xviii. 4). Hence apparently we 

27 



210 

being the office of the great maritime power at the time of 
the end, we cannot reasonably or consistently with pro- 
phecy suppose, that it is destined to perish in the com- 
mon wreck of Popish, Infidel, and Mohammedan, na- 
tions : and therefore we of course cannot suppose it to be 
the anti tt/pical Tyre, which does then perish. 

Hitherto the question has only been answered nega- 
tively, we must now endeavour to answer it positively. 
Since we have no sufficient ground to think, that the list, 
which Daniel and St. John give us, of those enemies of 
God, who are destined to fall at the close of the 1260 
years is imperfect ; we are obliged to conclude, that the 
antitypical Tyre, which Ezekiel represents as falling at 
the very same period or the period of the incipient resto- 
ration of Israel, is some one or other of those enemies. 
But how can the maritime Tyre be a fit type of any of 
those nations, when they are all (even according to my 
own interpretation) continental powers, and when their last 
expedition into Palestine (even according to my own opi- 
nion) is to be undertaken by land, because the decided 
superiority of the great naval state prevents them from 
undertaking it by sea ? 

To this I answer, that either a nation or a thing may be 
used as a type of direct opposites, according to the light 
in which they are viewed by the sacred writer who uses 
them. Thus the serpent and the lion are at once types 
of Christ and Satan, of the clean and the unclean : and 
yet no confusion arises from this circumstance, because 
the context always sufficiently shews the light in which 
the writer views his type. When we are directed to 
look up to the serpent in the wilderness for salvation, we 
are in no danger of supposing that the devil is meant ; 
we at once see plainly, that the wisdom of the serpent was 
the only characteristic in the mind of the Holy Spirit, 
and therefore that the serpent considered in that point of 
view was a fit type of the divine Wisdom, the eternal 
Logos. On the other hand, when the temper appears un- 
der the form of a serpent, and when St. John styles the 

must conclude, that all such as do come out of her will not receive of her 
plagues ; provided only they have refrained from defiling themselves with 
the atheistical abominations of Antichrist. See 2 Pet. ii. 18. 



211 

devil that old serpent, we are hi as little danger of sup 
posing that Christ is meant ; we immediately see, that 
the bad qualities of the serpent were alone in the contem- 
plation of the writer ; his perverted wisdom or his cun- 
ning whereby he deceiveth the whole world, the deadly 
malignity of his poison, and the subtlety with which he 
attacks his unsuspecting prey. In a similar manner, when 
Christ is styled the lion of the tribe oj Judah ; the cou- 
rage, the strength, the activity, the generosity, of that 
animal are solely considered : and, when the devil is dcs 
cribed as a roaring and a ramping lion going about ih 
search of whom he may devour ; the ferocity of the lion, 
his rapacity, his mode of lying in wait for his prey, the 
suddenness with which he springs upon it, the wonder- 
ful strength with which he holds it in his gripe, his prowl- 
ing about in darkness, are as evidently his only proper- 
ties which engage the attention of the writer *. This 
being the case, Tyre may be used as a type either of a 
great commercial nation of faithful worshippers, or of a 
great superstitious empire which drives an iniquitous traf- 
fic in indulgences, pardons, relics and such like trumpery * 
just as the writer considers the vast commerce of ancient 
Tyre literally or mystically. In what light he does con- 

* " As clean and unclean animals are not realities of good and evil, but 
only figures ; nothing- hinders, but that, like other figures, they should sig- 
nify differently, when under some different acceptation : as the same object* 
according to every new direction of the light that falls upon it, will project a 
different shadow. 

" My meaning will be best explained by some examples borrowed from 
the style of the Holy Scripture. Water, as a medium of purification, is a fit 
image of the Spirit of regeneration in baptism, which washes away sin : but, 
in its capacity of overflowing bodies with its waves, it becomes a figure of 
affliction, destruction, and even death itself. The same water, which bore up 
the ark of Noah in safety, and exhibited a pattern of the salvation of the Chris- 
tian Church, destroyed the world of the ungodly. The light of the sun\s be- 
neficial to the whole creation, and is emblematic of that divine light of life, 
which enlightens every man that eometh into the world : but the parching 
heat of its rays is used in the parables of Christ to express the fcry trial of 
persecution and tribulation for the truth's sale. 

"With the same variety of allusion, and without any danger of impropriety 
or confusion in the language of Scripture, the Hon, considered as a hungry 
and blood-thirsty beast of prey, is an image of the devil, who as a roaring lion 
ivalketh about seeking whom he may devour. But, in regard to his strength, 
power, generosity! and the majesty of his countenance, he is highl) expres- 
sive of the regal character^ and is therefore assumed to denote the pomqr and 
majesty of Christ himself the Hon of the tribe of Judah." Jones's Works, vol. 
Hi. p. 108. 



212 

sider it in any particular instance, we must be taught by 
the context. 

The context then in the present instance teaches us, 
that Ezekiel, in the description of his antitypical Tyre, 
does not mean literal, but mystical, commerce: because 
the antitypical Tyre is some one of God's enemies who 
perish at the close of the 1260 years, and not one of those 
enemies holds the rank in the modern commercial world, 
that Tyre did in the ancient; they all being continental 
powers, and some state decidedly in opposition to them 
being the great maritime power of the day, and conse- 
quently (if literal commerce be considered) in that point 
of view being the antitype of Tyre likewise. 

But one prophecy, relative to any given period, will al- 
ways be best explained by other parallel prophecies rela- 
tive to the same period. Do we iind then, that any one 
of the powers, destined to fall at the close of the 1260 
years and at the era of the restoration of the Jews, is 
elsewhere described under the same imagery that Eze- 
kiel uses to depict the antitypical Tyre ?Tf we do, the 
union of chronological coincidence and symbolical ima- 
gery will afford us as much certainty as perhaps can be 
attained in these matters, that the antitypical Tyre is in- 
tended for the power thus perishing at the same era and 
thus similarly described. 

Now it is remarkable, that St. John, as if to teach us 
the right interpretation of this typical prediction of Eze- 
kiel, purposely uses the very same imagery to represent 
the downfal of the papal Babylon. If Tyre be exhibited 
as a great trading city in Ezekiel; so is Babylon%m the 
Apocalypse. If the merchandise of Tyre be gold, silver, 
iron, all precious stones, purple, broidered work, fine 
linen, ivory, ebony, vessels of brass, the chief of all 
spices, cassia, calamus, honey, oil, balm, wheat, wine, 
wool, lambs, rams, goats, horses, mules, precious clothes 
for chariots, horsemen, and the souls of men ; so is the 
merchandise of Babylon gold, and silver, and precious 
stones, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, 
and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner of vessels 
of ivory, and all manner of vessels of most precious wood, 
and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and 



213 

odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and 
oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and 
horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. If 
the wares of Tijre filled many people, and enriched the 
kings of the earth ; so the kings of the earth, those great 
ones who were the merchants of Babylon, waxed rich 
through the abundance of her delicacies. If they of Per- 
sia, and of Lud, and of Phut, enrolled themselves in the 
armies of Tyre, and became her men of war ; so the ten 
Roman horns gave for a season their strength and power 
to Babylon, and contributed all their force to uphold the 
empire of the beast. If Tyre proudly sit at the entrance 
of the sea, and her prince in the midst of the seas; so 
Babylon is the great whore, that sitteth upon many 
waters. If all the merchants and mariners of Tyre be- 
wail her fall, saying, What city is like Tyre, like the de- 
stroyed in the midst of the sea ? so all the merchants and 
shipmasters of Babylon exclaim, weeping and wailing, 
What city is like unto this great city? If the kings are 
sore afraid on account of the overthrow of Tyre; so the 
kings of the earth, when they see the smoke of Babylon, 
stand afar off for fear of her torment, saying, Alas, Alas, 
that great city Babylon, that mighty city, for in one hour 
is thy judgment come! If Tyre is to become a terror, and 
never to be any more ; so Babylon is to be violently thrown 
down, and to be found no more at all. Lastly, as Eze- 
kiel, by connecting the fall of the antitypical Tyre with 
the restoration of the Jews, plainly shews us, that he can- 
not mean the literal Tyre; and yet leaves it uncertain 
whether we are to understand her commerce literally or 
mystically: so St. John, while he effectually precludes 
the possibility of our mistaking the antitypical Babylon 
for the literal Babylon, chooses this city rather than Tyre, 
as a type of the power which he is describing, in order to 
shew us, that no common trade is intended, but some 
mystic trade for which the power in question was notori- 
ous; Babylon never having been, like Tyre, a commercial 
city, in the literal sense of the words. 

Thus we see, that a power, destined to perish at the 
close of the 1260 years, and consequently at the era of the 
restoration of the Jews, is represented by St. John under 



214 

the image of a great trading city ; and that a power, like- 
wise destined to perish at the era of the restoration of the 
Jews, is represented by Ezekiel under the very same 
image of a great trading city : whence, I think, it must 
necessarily follow that the same power is intended by both 
those prophets. But that Babylon is the spiritual empire 
of the Papacy*, and that her traffic relates to the sale 
of relics and indulgences, to the gainful absurdities of pur- 
gatory, and to the pompously ridiculous worship of the 
Romish church, cannot reasonably be doubted: Tyre 
therefore, and her traffic, must mean the same monstrous 
superstition, and the same nefarious trade. As if indeed 
to give us a clear insight into the nature of this trade, 
both Tyre and Babylon are equally said to deal in the 
souls of men. 

Ezekiel however does not only give us a most ample 
description of the antitypical Tyre, but likewise a no less 
ample and particular one of her prince ; consequently, if 
I be right in supposing Tyre to mean the spiritual em- 
pire of the Papacy, the prince of Tyre must necessarily 
mean the Pope. Do we find then, that the character of 
the Bishop of Rome accords with the character of this 
prince ? 

The heart of the prince is so lifted up, that he declares 
himself to be a god, that he sitteth in the seat of God in 
the midst of the seas, that he sets his heart as the heart of 
God. The papal man of sin sitteth as God in the tem- 
ple of God, shewing himself that he is God ; he is wor- 
shipped by his cardinals on the day of his inauguration, 
proudly seated on the altar of the Lord ; he styles him- 
self the Lord God, another god upon earth, king of kings, 
and lord of lords; he places himself, as it w r as predicted 
his symbol the little Roman horn should do, by the side 
of the most High, affecting an equality with God; he sits 
in the seat of God, claiming to be his vice-gerent upon 
earth; he sits upon many waters, or rules by the influ- 

* The apocalyptic Babylon, or the great city, is the whole papal Roman em- 
pire, temporal and spiritual. Hence it is exhibited to us under the compound 
symbol of a harlot riding upon a seven-headed and ten-horned beast ,- the harlot 
representing the spiritual Babylon, which is the same as the spiritual Tyre here 
described by Ezekiel ; and the beast, the temporal Babylon. 



215 

cnce of a tyrannical superstition over peoples, andmulti 
hides, and nations, and tongues — The prince is told by 
the Almighty, in a strain of lofty and contemptuous iron}', 
that he is wiser than Daniel, that there is no secret which 
they can hide from him. The Pope -Is wont to boast of 
his infallibility, and therefore claims a degree of know- 
ledge equal to inspiration — The prince amasses vast riches 
by his wisdom, and his traffic. No set of men have been 
so distinguished for their policy as the Popes, by which 
they gradually acquired the astonishing influence which 
they once possessed in Europe: and they have been 
equally distinguished for their infamous spiritual trade in 
relics and indulgences, and in masses to deliver souls out 
of purgatory, by which an immense revenue accrued to 
them from every country under their control — The heart 
of the prince was lifted up because of his riches and power. 
The little papal horn had a mouth speaking great things; 
and his insolence arose to such a pitch, that he would not 
have even kings to be familiar with him, but boasted that 
he possessed the power of deposing both kings and em- 
perors, bestriding like some huge colossus the globe 
itself in the plenitude of his power — The prince is said 
to be an anointed cherub. If a cherub mean one of the su- 
perior order of angels, the import of the expression will 
be, that the person typified by the prince should be a 
chief-bishop, an angel in the language of symbols denot- 
ing a bishop or principal minister of religion; nay, that he 
should be more than a chief bishop, that he should be 
a prince -bishop, one that united in his own character the 
two functions of temporal and spiritual sovereignty. If, 
on the other hand, there be any truth in the opinion of 
some learned men, that a cherub is an hieroglyphical 
representation of God himself and that the word signi- 
fies a resemblance of the mighty One*; then the per- 
son typified by the Jirince will be some one who holds 
himself forth as the resemblance and representative of 
the Deity. In either case, it is obvious how accurately 
the character of the Pope is delineated by the term an 
anointed cherub. He is a chief-angel, or a metropolitan 

* See Parkhurst's Hebrew Lexicon, Vox 3-c 



216 

in the church ; he is an anointed chief- angel, or a prince- 
metropolitan ; he claims to be the representative of the 
Deity : he is exhibited in paintings as God ; and, when 
the Romanists impiously depict the Almighty, he appears 
as an old man with a triple crown on his head*. — The 
prince is further said to be an anointed cherub that 
spreadeth a veil The word, here used by the prophet 
to describe the action of the anointed cherub, is the 
same as that which Isaiah uses, when he declares, that, in 
the last days, at the period of the restoration of Israel, 
God will destroy in his holy mountain the face of the 
covering that is cast over all the peoples, and the veil 
that is spread over all the nations f. The veil therefore, 
which God will then destroy, is the veil, which the anoint- 
ed cherub had long been employed in spreading ; that is 
to say, it is the veil of gross ignorance which the Popes 
had long and successfully been labouring to spread over 
the face of all men. Finding Scripture altogether against 
them in their controversies with the protestants, " the 
Popes," says Mosheim, " permitted their champions to 
indulge themselves openly in reflections injurious to the 
dignity of the sacred writings, and, by an excess of blas- 
phemy almost incredible (if the passions of men did not 
render them capable of the greatest enormities), to de- 
clare publicly, that the edicts of the pontiffs, and the 
records of oral tradition, were superior in point of autho- 
rity to the express language of the Holy Scriptures." 
And, in perfect accordance with such impiety, the church 
of Rome, the mystic Tyre of which the Pope is the prince, 
obstinately affirms, as the same historian observes, that 
" the Holy Scriptures were not composed for the use of 
the multitude, but only for that of their spiritual teach- 
ers ; and, of consequence, has ordered these divine re- 
cords to be taken from the people in all places, where it 
was allowed to execute its imperious commands."— -7 he 
prince was full of violence by reason of the multitude of 
his merchandise, and defiled his sanctuaries by the mul- 
titude of his iniquities and the iniquity of his traffic. The 

* See the plate opposite p. 413 of the Breviarium Romanum Antverpiae 
1698. A full account of it is given in the Supplement to Burton's Essay on the 
numbers of Daniel and St. John p. 96, 97. 

f Isaiah xxv. 7. 



217 

Pope is drunken with the blood of the saints and the blood 
of the martyrs of Jesus, who protested against the scan- 
dalous spiritual trade which he was carrying on : and even 
his chief sanctuary, the church of St. Peter, was polluted 
by the same vile traffic, Leo having recourse to an unli- 
mited sale of indulgences to raise money for the erection 
of it — Yet was the prince once perfect in his ways from 
the day that he was created ; he was once in Eden the 
garden of God ; he was once in the holy mountain of the 
Lord ; and, the prophet adds, speaking as a Jew in allu- 
sion to the precious stones of Urim and Thummim on the 
breast-plate of the high- priest, he once walked up and 
down in the midst of the stones of fire *. The Popes fell 
by degrees from the purity and perfection of primitive 
Christianity to their present state of depravity and apos- 
tasy. Clemens, one of the earliest Bishops of Rome, is 
declared by an apostle to have his name written in the 
book of life. The Popes then were once in the holy 
mountain of God, in the inclosed garden of his Church, 
till iniquity was found in them, till their hearts were lift- 
ed up because of their beauty, till they corrupted their 
wisdom by reason of their brightness, till they wandered 
into the wilderness of ignorance and error and worldly - 
mindedness and heresy f. — After the prince had fallen 
from his perfection, he exhibited himself as one of the 
great ones of the earth. Every precious stone was his 
covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, 
the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, the 
carbuncle, and gold. Instead of making melody in his 
heart to the Lord, he delighted himself in a pompous 
pageantry of worship, in the sound of tabrcts and pipes. 
And the prophet adds, that even this was prepared in him 
from the very day that he was created, although he was 
originally perfect in his ways. The Pope, after his apos- 
tasy, sought to cover his spiritual nakedness with splen- 
did attire and gaudy devotion. He arrayed himself in 

* u Such was thy eminent distinction, that thou wast, as it were, placed 
in the temple of God on his holy mountain. Thou wast, as it were, conver- 
sant among the twelve precious stones on the breast-plate of the high-priest, 
which shone like fire." Mr. JLowth in ]oc. 

f Rev. xvii. 1, 2, 3. 

28 



218 

purple and scarlet, and decked himself with gold and 
precious stones and pearls *. He allured his votaries 
with the charms of music and the multifarious rites of a 
splendid superstition f. Though six centuries elapsed ere 
the man of sin was revealed, the mystery of iniquity was 
already working even in the apostolic age $. " The seeds 
of corruption were sown, but they were not yet grown 
up to any maturity. The leaven was fermenting in some 
parts, but it was far from having yet infected the whole 
mass J." 

We have seen how accurately the character of the mys- 
tic prince of Tyre answers to that of the Bishop of Rome; 
and we may safely venture to assert, that there is no other 
potentate of these last days, either popish or protestant, 
to whom the character will at all answer : let us now at- 
tend to the predicted time and method of his overthrow. 
When the prince shall perish, there shall be no more a 
rankling thorn to the house of Israel of all those that de- 
spised them ; but they shall be gathered to their own land 
from the people among whom they have been scattered. 
Hence it will necessarily follow, both that the prince was 
a rankling thorn or great persecutor of the Jeivs, and that 
he will perish at the era of their restoration. In modern 
history we find, that the papal little horn has been the 
great promoter of all the persecutions and oppressions 
which the Jexvs have suffered, compelling them to apos- 
tatise and bow down before idols and relics, taking their 
children from them in order that they may be educated 
in the superstitions of Popery ,. robbing them of their 
property, banishing and even murdering them T[. And 
from prophecy we find, that this little horn is to be de- 
stroyed at the close of the 1260 years ; that is to say, at 
the period when the Jews begin to be restored \\ . — The 

* Rev. xvii. 4. xviii. 16. Platina relates, that " in his pontifical vestments 
Pope Paul II. outwent all his predecessors, especially in his regno or mitre* 
upon which he laid out a great deal of money in purchasing 1 at vast rates dia- 
monds, sapphires, emeralds, chrysoliths, jaspers, unions, and all manner of 
precious stones ; wherewith adorned like another Aaron, he would appear 
abroad somewhat more aug-ust than a man, delighting* to be seen and admirer 
by every one.'* Lives of the Popes, P. 414. cited by B. Newton. 

f Rev. xviii 22. t 2 Thess. ii, f. 

§ See Bp. Newton's Dissert, xxii. 

<\] See Bp. Newton's Dissert, vi'u 

i Dan. vii.ll, 25, 26. xii. 1, 7, 



219 

prince is to be destroyed by the instrumentality of the 
strangers, the terrible of the nations. The Scriptures 
abundantly testify, that the Jews, who have long been 
wanderers upon the face of the earth whence they may 
emphatically be styled the strangers *, will at the time of 
the end become a principal instrument in the hand of God 
of punishing all their oppressors ; the chief of whom, 
because the instigator of all the rest, has ever been the 
Pope f. — The prince is to die the death of the uncircum- 
cised by the hand of the strangers. The pope, or false 
Romish prophet, is to perish in Palestine ; as the Jews for- 
merly inflicted the vengeance of God, in the same coun- 
try, on the various wicked uncircumcised nations of the 
Canaanites. — The prince is to die the death of them that 
are slain in the midst of the sea. The Pope, who has so 
long sat upon the many symbolical waters, is to perish 
during a time of unexampled trouble and confusion, the 
waves and the sea roaring, men's hearts failing them 
through fear. — The prince is to be devoured by a fire 
from the midst of him, and to be cast to the ground a 
spectacle to all the kings of the earth. The Papacy is to 
waste away by an internal fire ; which has already begun 
to consume it ; the ten horns of the Roman beast, are to 
hate the whore, and to make her desolate and naked, and 
to eat her flesh, and to burn her with fire ; she is finally 
to be completely destroyed by a fire, which may likewise 
be said to come out of her, even the house of Judah, 
which will be gathered out of her empire, and which will 
become like a hearth of fire among the wood and like a 
torch of fire in a sheaf J ; and then all the kings of the 
earth, who have committed fornication and lived deli- 
ciously with her, will bewail her and lament for her, when 

* I wish this remark concerning the strangers to be considered only in the 
light of a conjecture. It is possible, that by them may not be intended the 
Jews, but some fierce northern nation, which there is reason to expect from 
prophecy will be very instrumental in punishing- the sins of the Roman Baby- 
lon during the time that Antichrist is engaged in his expedition against Pal- 
estine. This matter will be discussed more at large, when I treat of the 
prophecies of Daniel and St. John. It is worthy of remark, that Vitringa, in 
summing up the particulars wherein the literal Babylon is typical of the 
mystical Babvlon, enumerates the attack made upon it by fierce northern na- 
tions, the Medo-Persians and their allies, which terminated in its destruc- 
tion. See the passage cited in the notes on prophecy V. 

t Isaiah xli. 15, 16'.— Obad. 18.— Zechar. xii. 6, ♦ Zechar. xii. 6. 



f» 220 

they shall see the smoke of her burning *. — The mystic 
Tyre is to be brought by her rowers into deep waters, 
and to be broken by the east wind in the midst of the sea. 
The power of the Papacy is to be brought by its sup- 
porters, the beast and the kings of the earth, into great 
trouble ; and to be broken by a violent wind, or dread- 
ful war, in the midst of the symbolical sea, in the eastern 
region of Palestine f . — Finally God will cast the prince 
out of his holy mountain as profane, and will make him 
a terror among the nations, and will cause that he shall 
never be any more. In a similar manner the dominion 
of the little papal horn shall be utterly consumed and de- 
stroyed ; and the kingdom shall be given to the saints of 
the Most High, or those who constitute that pure millen- 
nial! church out of which the horn shall be for ever cast : 
the man of sin shall be consumed by the spirit of the 
Lord's mouth, and shall be destroyed by the brightness 
of his coming : the beast and the false prophet shall be 
taken in arms against the Lord, and shall be cast alive 
into a lake of fire burning with brimstone: Babylon the 
great shall become the habitation of devils, and the hold 
of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hate- 
ful bird, and shall be thrown down, and shall be found 
no more at all : in short the papal tyrant, who had so 
often excommunicated and thrust out of what he termed 
the catholic church, all who refused to partake of his idol- 
atry and to pollute themselves with his abominations, shall 
now himself be cast with ignominy out of the true church 
of Christ ; and shall be for ever separate from those, who 
had come out of his spiritual empire, in order that they 
might not be partakers of his sins, nor receive of his 
plagues J. 

* Rev. Xviii. 9. 

•J" " Tempestuous winds, or the motion of clouds, for wars" Sir Isaac Newton's 
Observ. on Dan. and St. John. P. 18. 

+ For the manner in which the character of this prince is applied to the 
literal prince of Tyre, the reader may consult Abp. Newcome's translation of 
Ezekiel. I confess it appears to me totally inapplicable either to Ithobal 
or any other Phenician sovereign. According to his grace, the rankling thorn 
was removed when Nebuchadnezzar subdued all the ancient enemies of the 
yews. But this falls very far short of the plain import of the prophecy. 
The terms, in which it is expressed, extend it to the restoration of the whole 
house of Israel, Ephraim as well as Judah ; and it positively asserts, that af- 
ter the downfal of Tyre, there should be no more a rankling thorn to afflict the 



221 

When the thorn, that had so long goaded the housektf 
Israel, shall be removed ; when the Lord shall have ex- 
ecuted judgments upon all those that despised his people : 
then will he gather them from all the countries of their 
dispersion, and bring them into the land which he gave 
unto his servant Jacob. There they shall dwell safely, 
and shall build houses, and shall plant vineyards : they 
shall dwell with confidence, and shall know that the Lord 
is their God. 



PROPHECY XXV. 

The dispersion of Israel through the tyranny of their shepherds — 
God will require his people at their hands — The restoration of 
Judah partly in a converted and partly -in an unconverted state—- 
The opposition of the unconverted to the converted, a proof that 
the unconverted will be restored by Antichrist — Downfal of the 
mystic Edom — The political revival, restoration, and final union, 
of Israel and Judah — The overthrow of Gog and Magog at the 
end of the Millennium. 

Ezekiel xxxiv. 1. And the word of the Lord came 
unto me, saying, 2. Son of man, prophesy against the 
shepherds of Israel * — should not the shepherds feed the 

ancient people of God. Now, from Babylon Judah alone returned ; and, so far 
from afterwards enjoying a state of uninterrupted tranquillity, or (in the lan- 
guage of the prophet) being freed from the stings of runkling briars and ul- 
cerating thorns, the Jews, after having been subjected to the persecutions of 
the Syro-Macedonian kings, were at length scattered by the Romans over 
the face of the whole earth. Formerly they were only chastised with whips ; 
latterly they have been chastised with scorpians. 

Mr. Bicheno I believe to be right in referring this prophecy to the vet fu- 
ture era of the restoration of Judah, but 1 think him mistaken in supposing 
that Tyre is the type of some great modern commercial nation. He censures 
Mr. Fraser for conceiving, like myself, that the prediction relates to the over- 
throw of papal Rome, m rely because Rome is not a commercial city and 
possesses not any naval power. I have not read Mr. Frascr's work', and 
therefore know not by what arguments he supports his opinion: but this, 
which Mr. Bicheno brings against him, is certainly inconclusive. If it prove 
any thing, it will prove equally that the apocalyptic Babylon cannot be the Pa- 
pacy; because the apocalyptic Babylon is described, like Tyre, as being- a great 
commercial city, and as having many trading vessels out at sea. lint I have 
already most fully stated mv reasons for interpreting the prophecy as I have 
done. The reader will find Mr. Bicheno's arguments in favor of his opinion, 
in his Signs of the Times, part iii p. 172—176 

( * The shepherds of Israel. ~\ These shepherds must certainly be, not theolo- 
gical, but political, shepherds. Corrupt as the Jewish priests, scribes, and 



222 

Jock? — 3. But ye feed not the flock. — 5. They are 
scattered so that they have no shepherd f ; and they are 
become meat to all the beasts of the field when they were 
-scattered. 6. My sheep wander through all the moun- 
tains, and upon every high hill; yea, my flock is scat- 
tered upon all the face of the earth, and none searcheth 
or seeketh after them. — 9. Therefore, O ye shepherds, 
hear the word of the Lord: 10. Thus saith the Lord 
God ; Behold, I am against the shepherds : and I will 
require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease 
from feeding the flock ; neither shall the shepherds feed 
themselves any more: for I will deliver my flock from 
their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. 

11. Wherefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold I, 
even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. 
12. As the shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that 
he is among his sheep that are scattered ; so will I seek 
out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places 
where they have been scattered in the dark and cloudy 
day. 13. And 1 will bring them out from the peoples #, 

pharisees, were in the days of our Saviour, I know not with what propriety- 
it can be said, that they scattered the flock upon the face of the whole earth 
In the dark and cloudy day, and that from their hands the flock wdl be re- 
quired in the day of their restoration : for, that the scattering here spoken of 
means a literal and not a spiritual dispersion (as that in Isaiah liii. 6. All ive 
like sheep have gone astray ; <txe have turned every one to his own ivayj, is mani- 
fest from its being placed in opposition to the literal gathering together and re- 
turn of the Jews. Those then, who literally scattered the jfews, and from 
whose hands they will be required at their restoration, must undoubtedly be 
the shepherds here intended. The shepherds therefore must be the Roman 
beast under his sixth and last heads. The passage is exactly parallel with two 
prophecies already considered: Jerem. xii. 9 — 17; and xxiii. 1— 8. Abp. 
Newcome and Michaelis justly understand the shepherds in atemporal sense ; 
but suppose them to mean the king, his counsellors, and the heads of the people. 
These however do not answer to the prophetic character of the shepherds ,• 
because they certainly never scattered the Israelites. The terms of the pre- 
diction are such as to make it very unnatural and far-fetched to say, that the 
Jewish rulers scattered the people, by so provoking God with their sins as 
to induce him to send nations against them who did literally scatter them. 
See Mr. X.owth in loc. 

f They have no shepherd^ They are under no independent government of 
their own ; but have been long subject to the tyranny of shepherds, who 
preyed upon them, instead of feeding them. The sceptre is departed from 
Judah ; and they have abode many days without a king, and without a prince, 
and without a sacrifice. See Gen. xlix. 10. and Hosea iii. 4. 

* I viill bring them out from, the peoples. ~] "This prophecy may have been 
in some degree fulfilled in the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivi- 
ty ; but seems still to look further, even to the general restoration of the 
whole nation, which most of the prophets foretell shall come to pass in the 
latter days." Mr. Lowth in loc. 



223 

and will gather them from the countries, and will bring 
them to their own land, and feed them upon the moun- 
tains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the inhabited 
places of the country. 14. I will feed them in a good 
pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their 
fold be : there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat 
pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. 
15. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie 
down, saith the Lord. 16. I will seek that which was 
lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and 
will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen 
that which was sick : but I will destroy the fat and the 
strong ; I will feed them with judgment. 

17. And, as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord 
God; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between 
the rams and the he-goats. 18. Seemeth it a small thing 
unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must 
tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures ? 
and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul 
the residue with your feet? 19. And, as for my flock, 
they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and 
they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. 

20. Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them, 
Behold I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and 
the lean cattle. 21. Because ye have thrust with side 
and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your 
horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; 22. Therefore 
will I save my flock, and they shall be no more a prey, 
and I will judge between cattle and cattle. 23. And I 
will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed 
them, even my servant David: he shall feed them, and 
he shall be their shepherd. 24. And I, the Lord, will 
be their God; and my servant David shall be a prince 
among them: I, the Lord, have spoken it. 25. And I 
will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause 
the evil beasts to cease out of the land : and they shall 
dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 

26. And I will make them and the places round about 
my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come 
down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. 

27. And the tree of the. field shall yield her fruit, and 



224 

the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe 
in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord when I 
have broken the bands of their yoke*, and delivered 
them out of the hand of those that caused them to serve 
among them. 28. And they shall be no more a prey to 
the nations, neither shall the beasts of the earth f devour 
them ; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make 
them afraid. 29. And I will raise up for them a plant of 
renown J; and they shall be no more consumed with hun- 
ger in the land, neither shall they bear the shame of the 
nations any more. 30. Thus shall they know, that I, the 
Lord their God, am with them ; and that they, even the 
house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God. 
31. And ye, my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, 
and I am your God, saith the Lord God. 

xxxv. 1. And the word of the Lord came unto me, 
saying, 2. Son of man, set thy face against mount S ir, 
and prophesy against it, 3. And say unto it, Thus saith 
the Lord God ; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against 
thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and 
I will make thee a desolation and a desolation. 4. I will 
lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate ; and thou 
shalt know that I am the Lord. 5. Because thou hast 
had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the 
children of Israel by the force of the sword, in the time 
of their iniquity in the end: 6. Therefore, as I live, saith 
the Lord God, I will prepare thee for blood, and blood 
shall pursue thee : sith thou hast not hated blood, even 
blood shall pursue thee. 7. Thus will I make mount 
Seir a desolation and a desolation ; and cut off from it 
him that passeth out, and him that returneth. 8. And I 
will fill his mountains with his slain men : in thy hills, and 
in thy vallies, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are 
slain with the sword. 9. I will make thee a perpetual 

* When I have broken the bands of their yoke.'] " The same expression vyhich. 
is used concerning the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt (Levit. xxvi. 13. 
Jerem. ii. 20.) ; their final restoration being- represented as the greater deli- 
verance of the two. See Jerem. xxiii. 7, 8." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

f The beasts of the earth. ~\ Tyrannical empires ; the nations mentioned in 
the former clause of the verse. See Mr. Lowth's Comment, on ver. 25. 

i A plant'of renovm.~\ « The Messiah is often described under the name 
©f the branch, and the rod oj? shoot growing out of the stem of Jesse." Mr. 
Lowth in loc. 



225 

desolation, and thy cities shall not return : and ye shall 
know, that I am the Lord. 10. Because thou hast said, 
These two nations, and these two countries, shall be 
mine, and we will possess it : whereas the Lord was 
there. 11. Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God, I 
will even do according to thine anger and according to 
thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against 
them; and I w T ill make myself known among them, when 
I have judged thee. 12. And thou shalt know, that, 
I the Lord, have heard all thy contemptuous speeches 
which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, 
saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to 
consume. 13. Thus with your mouth ye have boast- 
ed against me, and have multiplied your words against 
me : I have heard. 14. Thus saith the Lord God : 
When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee deso- 
late. 15. As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the 
house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto 
thee : thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir and all Edom, 
even all of it ; and they shall know, that I am the Lord, 
xxxvi. 1. And thou, son of man, prophesy unto the 
mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel *, 
hear the word of the Lord : 2. Thus saith the Lord God : 
Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the 
ancient high places are ours in possession : 3. Therefore 
prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord God ; Because 
they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on 
eveiy side, that ye might be a possession unto the resi- 
due of the nations, and ye are taken up in the lips of 
talkers, and are an infamy of the people : 4. Therefore, 
ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God ; 
Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains and to the 
hills, to the rivers and to the vallies, to the desolate 
wastes and to the forsaken cities, which became a prey 

* Ye mountains of Israel .] It is worthy of notice, that the present compa- 
ratively barren state of 1'alesline has not (infrequently been urged by infidels 
with contemptuous triumph against the scriptural descriptions of it r>s a kind, 
flowing with milk and honey, a land capable of supporting 1 an astonishing de- 
gree of population. Here we behold their taunts anticipated with the decla- 
ration, that He, who can make a fruitful land barren for the wickedness of 
.them that dwell therein, can again with equal ease make a barren land fruit- 
fill when he gathers bis ancient people into the country of their fathers 
Psiilm. cvii. 33—37. See Bp. Newton's Dissert, viii. 3. 
29 



226 

and derision to the residue of the nations round about, 

5. Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Surely in the fire 
of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the 
nations, and against all Edom, which have appointed my 
land unto them for a possession, with the joy of all their 
heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey. 

6. Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and 
say unto the mountains and to the hills, to the rivers and 
to the vallies, Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I have 
spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have 
borne the shame of the nations : 7. Therefore thus saith 
the Lord God ; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the 
nations that are about you, they shall bear their shame. 
8. But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth 
your branches, and yield your fruit to my people Israel : 
for they are at hand to come. 9. For behold, I am for 
you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and 
sown : 10. And I will multiply men upon you, all the 
house of Israel even ail of it : and the cities shall be in- 
habited, and the wastes shall be builded : 11. And I will 
multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase 
and bring forth fruit ; and I will settle you after your old 
estates, and will do better unto you than at your begin- 
nings : and ye shall know, that I am the Lord. — 

16. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying; 
17. Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their 
own land, they denied it — 18. Wherefore I poured my 
fury upon them, — 19. And I scattered them among the 
nations, and they were dispersed through the countries : 
according to their way, and according to their doings, I 
judged them. 20. And, when they entered unto the 
nations whither they went, they profaned my holy name, 
when they said to them, These are the people of the 
Lord, and are gone forth out of his land. 21. And I had 
pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had 
profaned among the nations whither they went. 22. There- 
fore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord 
God ; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, 
but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned 
among the nations whither ye went. 23. And I will 
sanctify my great name, which w T as profaned among the 



227 

nations, which ye have profaned in the midst of them ; 
and the nations shall know, that I am the Lord, saith the 
Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their 
eyes. 24. For I will take you from among the nations, 
and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you 
into your own land. 25. Then will I sprinkle clean 
water upon 3011, and ye shall be clean : from all your 
filthincss, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 
£6. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit 
will I put within you : and 1 will take away the stony 
heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of 
flesh. 27. And I will put my Spirit within you, and 
cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my 
judgments, and do them. 23. And ye shall dwell in the 
land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my peo- 
ple, and I will be your God — 31. Then shall ye remem- 
ber your own evil ways, and your doings that were not 
good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for 
your iniquities and for your abominations. 32. Not for 
your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God ; be it known 
unto you : be ashamed and confounded for your own 
ways, O house of Israel — 

xxx vii. 1. The hand of the Lord was upon me, and 
carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down 
in the midst of a valley which was full of bones, 2. And 
caused me to pass by them round about : and behold, 
there were very many in the open valley ; and lo, they 
were very dry. 3. And he said unto me, Son of man, 
can these bones live ? And I answered, O Lord God, 
thou knowest. 4. And he said unto me, Prophesy upon 
these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones *, hear 

* Dry bones.'] The extreme accuracy of symbolical prophecy is very re- 
markable. St. John, wishing- to describe the short extinction of the Smalcal- 
dic witnesses which continued only three years and a half, describes them as 
being- slain indeed, but as lying unburied during the space of three days and 
a half; after which life entered into them, and they stood again upon their 
feet (Rev. xi. 7—10. See my Dissert, on the 1260 years, vol ii. p. 60. 2d edit. 
p. 62.) Isaiah, on the other hand, exhibiting to us the long political extinction 
of Judah, represents his children, as not only dead, but buried. (Isaiah xwi. 
19.) While Ezekiel, treating both of the long extinction of J ml ah and the yet 
longer extinction of Israel, calls us to behold the resurrection of a heap of dry 
bones ; of bones, all whose covering even of putrid flesh had long since de- 
cayed away; whose very sinews were wasted: of bones altogether bare ; 
and, not only altogether bare, but which had so long been bleaching in the 



228 

the word of the Lord. 5. Thus saith the Lord God unto 
these bones ; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, 
and ye shall live. 6. And I will lay sinews upon you, and 
will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, 
and put breath in you ; and ye shall live, and ye shall 
know that I am the Lord. 7. So I prophesied as I was 
commanded : and, as I prophesied, there was a noise ; 
and, behold, a shaking; and the bones came together, 
bone to his bone. 8. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews 
and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered 
them above : but there was no breath in them. 9. Then 
said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son 
of man, and say to the wind; Thus saith the Lord God; 
Come from the four winds, O breath *, and breathe upon 
these slain that they may live. 10. So I prophesied as 
he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and 
they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding 
great army. 

11. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones 
are the whole house of .Israel: behold, they say, our 
bones are dried, and our hope is lost ; we are cut off for 
our parts. 12. Therefore prophesy, and say unto them, 
Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, O my people, I will 
open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your 
graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13. And 
ye shall know, that I am the Lord, when I have opened 
your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of 
your graves. 14. And I will put my Spirit in you, and 
ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land : then 
shall ye know, that I the Lord have spoken it, and per- 
formed it, saith the Lord. 

15. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 
16. And thou, son of man, take thee one stick, and write 
upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his com- 

SUn and in the wind, that/o, they were very dry. The prophet adds, These bones 
are the whole house of Israel, Ephraim, as well as Judah ; and puts these 
emphatic words into the mouth of that nation, which separately or wholly 
has been expecting, expecting, and trampled underfoot, more than 25 centuries, 
Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost. 

* Come from the four winds, O breath ~] " The words figuratively repre- 
sent the restoration of the Jewish nation from the several countries whither 
they were dispersed over the world, expressed by their being scattered to- 
ward all winds" Mr. Lowth in loc. 



229 

panions. Then take another stick, and write upon it, 
For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of 
Israel his companions * : 17. And join them one to 
another into one stick , and they shall become one in 
thine hand. 18. And, when the children of thy people 
shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us 
what thou meanest by these ? 19. Say unto them, Thus 
saith the Lord God ; Behold I will take the stick of Jo- 
seph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of 
Israel, his fellows, and will put them upon him with the 
stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall 
be one in mine hand. 20. And the sticks, whereon 
thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. 
21. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, 
I will take the children of Israel from among the nations 
whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, 
and bring them into their own land : 22. And I will 
make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of 
Israel ; and one king shall be king to them all ; and they 
shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divid- 
ed into two kingdoms any more at all. 23. Neither 
shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, 
nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their 
transgressions : but I will save them out of all their dwel- 
ling places wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse 
them, and they shall be my people, and I will be their 
God. 24. And David my servant shall be king over 
them, and they shall all have one shepherd : and they 
shall walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes* 
and do them. 25. And they shall dwell in the land that 
I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fa- 
thers have dwelt ; and they shall dwell therein, even they 
and their children, and their children's children, for ever : 

* Judah, and the children of Israel his companions — Joseph, arid all the house 
of Israel his compani<,7is.~\ This remarkable expression might alone prove, 
that the restoration of the house of Israel, so often predicted by the prophets, 
did not take place, to the degree that it ever will take place, at the return 
from the Babylonian captivity. Judah is here mentioned, with the children 
of Israel his companions ; or Levi, Benjamin, and such individuals of the ten 
tribes as followed him from Babylon : while Joseph is separately mentioned, 
as having- all the house of Israel for his companions ; or the great body of the ten 
tribes After the destruction of Antichrist, Judah so circumstanced, and Jo- 
seph so circumstanced, are to coalesce into people. 



230 

and my servant David shall be their prince for even 
26. And I will make a covenant of peace with them : it 
shall be an everlasting covenant with them : and I will 
place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary 
in the midst of them for evermore. 27. And my taber- 
nacle shall be with them : and I will be their God, and 
they shall be my people. 28. And the nations shall 
know, that I the Lord do sanctify Israel *, when my 
sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore. 

xxxviii. 1. And the word of the Lord came unto me, 
saying, son of man, set thy face against Gog of the land 
of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Mesech, and Tubal f, and 
prophesy against him: 3. And say, Thus saith the Lord 
God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the prince of 
Rosh, Mesech, and Tubal. 4. And I will turn thee back, 
and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, 
and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them cloth- 
ed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with 
bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords : 5. Per- 
sia, Ethiopia, and Libya, with them ; all of them with 
shield and helmet ; 6. Gomer and all his bands ; the house 
of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands ; and 
many people with thee. 7. Be thou prepared, and prepare 
for thyself, thou and all thy company that are assembled 
unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. 

8. After many days thou shalt be visited : in the end 
of years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back 

* The nations shall know, that I the Lord do sanctify Israel.'] " The conver- 
sion of the Jewish nation, and their being restored to their former state of 
favour and acceptance with God, will be a work of Providence taken notice 
of by the heathens themselves, who shall join themselves to the Jevis, as the 
church of God and temple of truth. See Chap, xxxvi. 23." Mr. Lowth 
in loc. 

t G°g of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Mesech, and Tubal.'] So the 
i,xx. .Ap^ovrBt 'P#s, Mso-a^, vat 0ofce^. Our translation takes jpjp to be a 
common name, and thence reads chief prince, which is a manifest tautology : 
•whereas tp*n is the name of a people, like Mesech, and Tubal. The Russians 
and Muscovites seem to be colonies of Rosh and Mesech or (as the name may- 
be pronounced) Mosch; but 1 know not, that we have any reason for suppos- 
ing that they are here intended (See Bochart. Geog. Sacr. L. iii. C 12, 13. or 
Well's Geography of the Old Testament. Vol. i. p. 78.) We may infer frora 
Daniel, that we ought to look for the confederacy of Gog and Magog within the 
ancient territories of the three first beasts : there accordingly we find the ori- 
ginal settlements of all the nations enumerated by Ezekiel. But let us forbear 
to speculate on this obscure subject, further than we have the express war- 
rant of Scripture. See Abp. Newcome's Ezek. in loc. 



231 

from the sword, and gathered out of many peoples, against 
the mountains of Israel, which have been perpetually for 
a desolation : yet it is brought forth out of the nations, 
and they are dwelling in confident security all of them. 
9. Thou shalt ascend, and come like a storm, thou shalt 
be like a cloud to cover the land, thou and all thy bands, 
and many people with thee. 10. Thus saith the Lord 
God ; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time 
shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an 
evil thought. 11. And thou shalt say, I will go up to 
the land of unwalled villages : I will go to them that are 
at rest, that dwell in confident security, all of them dwel- 
ling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates ; 
12. To take a spoil, and to take a prey ; to turn thine 
hand upon the once desolate places that are now inhabit- 
ed, upon the people gathered out of the nations, which 
have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of 
the land. 13. Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of 
Tarshish* with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto 
thee, Art thou come to take a spoil ? hast thou gathered 
thy company to take a prey ? to carry away silver and 
gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil ? 
14. Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say unto 
Gog ; Thus saith the Lord God; Shalt not thou knowf 
in that day when my people Israel dwelleth in confident 
security ? 15. Yea, thou shalt come from thy place out 
of the north- parts, thou and many people with thee, all 
of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a migh- 
ty army. 16. And thou shalt come up against my peo- 
ple Israel, as a cloud to cover the land : in the end of 

* The merchants of Tarshish."] I know not who can be here intended ex- 
cept the great maritime nation of faithful worshippers, which had so vigorous- 
ly opposed the tyranny of Antichrist, and which had been so instrumental in 
bringing back the converted division of Judah. It is pleasing- to behold them, 
at the end of the Millennium, still preserving their ancient character, and 
refusing to cast in their lot with Gog and Magog, as they had heretofore re- 
fused to do with EdoDi. Faithful to their old principles and their old alli- 
ance, they ask, in astonishment at this new impiety, " Art thou come to take 
a spoil ? hast thou g-athcred thy company to take a prey \ to carry away silver 
and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil ?" 

f Shalt not thou knovj.~\ Abp. Newcome translates this passage Shalt thou 
•not rise up ? instead of Shalt thou not bwvj ? reading iyn on the authority of 
(lie lxx. who translate the word, as it stood in their copy, ey;ep6i}T7\. 



232 

.days * it shall be that I will bring thee against my land, 
that the nations may know me, when I shall be sanctified 
in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. 17. Thus saith the 
Lord God, Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old 
time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which pro- 
phesied in those days many years, that I would bring 
thee against them ? 18. And it shall come to pass at the 
same time, when Gog shall come against the land of Is- 
rael, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in 
my face. 19. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my 
wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a 
great shaking in the land of Israel ; 20. So that the fish- 
es of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts 
of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the 
earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, 
shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be 
thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every 
wall shall fall to the ground. 21. And I will call for a 
sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith 
the Lord God : every man's sword shall be against his 
brother. 22. And I will plead against him with pesti- 
lence and with blood : and I will rain upon him, and up- 
on his bands, and upon the many people that are with 
him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and 
brimstone. 23. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanc- 
tify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many 
nations ; and they shall know, that I am the Lord. 

xxxix. 1. And thou, son of man, prophesy Against 
Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I am 
against thee, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Mesech, and 
Tubal : 2. And I will turn thee back, and leave but the 
sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from 
the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains 
of Israel : 3. And I will smite thy bow out of thy left 
hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right 

* The end of days.~\ Since Antichrist is destroyed at the end of 'days -, and 
since Gog and Magog likewise perish at the end of days ; and since Antichrist 
is destroyed previous to the commencemoit of the Millennium, and Gog and 
Magog at the close of it: the end of davs must necessarily mean, as I have else- 
where argued, that portion of time which begins at the termination rf the great 
apostasy of 1260 years, and which expires at the end of the Millennium. See my 
Dissert, on the 1260 years. Vol. i. p. 85—88. 2d edit. p. 89— y2. 



hand. 4. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, 
thou and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee : 
I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and 
to the beasts of the field to be devoured. 5. Thou shalt 
fall upon the open field : for I have spoken it, saith the 
Lord God. 6. And I will send a fire on Magog, and on 
those that dwell in the isles in confident security ; and 
they shall know that I am the Lord — 

17. And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord God; 
Speak unto every feathered fowl*, and to every beast of 
the field ; Assemble yourselves, and come; gather your- 
selves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice, 
even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that 
ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. 18. Ye shall eat the 
flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes 
of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, 
of all the fatlings of Bashan — 

22. And the house of Israel shall know, that I am the 
Lord their God from that day and forward. 23. And 
the nations shall know, that the house of Israel went into 
captivity for their iniquity : because they trespassed against 
me, therefore hid I my "face from them, and gave them 
into the hand of their enemies : so fell they all by the 
sword. 24. According to their uncleanness and accord- 
ing to their transgressions have I done unto them, and' 
hid my face from them. 25. Therefore thus saith the 
Lord God ; Now will I bring again the captivity of Ja- 
cob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and 
will be jealous for my holy name ; 26. And they have 
borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they 
trespassed against me, when they dwelt in their land in 
confident security, and none made them afraid. 27. When 
I have brought them again from the people, and gathered 

* Speak unto every feathered fowl.~\ St. John has borrowed the imagery of 
this passage in his description of the overthrow of the Antichristian Roman con- 
federacy (Rev. xix. 17 — 21.) : but a mere adaptation will not prove the iden- 
tity of the two confederacies against positive argument. This allegory of 
Ezekiel has called forth in a very singular manner the critical powers of an 
unbeliever. Voltaire quoted it to prove, that the Jews of old times eat the 
flesh of horses and even of men : and, •'though cautioned that not Jews, 
nor men, but wild beasts and birds, were invited to this feast of slaughter, 
that is, to the consumption of the slain, yet insisted to the last on his strange 
accusation." Michaelis cited bv Abp. Newcomc in loc. 

30 



234 

them out of the lands of their enemies, and have been 
sanctified in them in the sight of many nations ; 28. Then 
shall they know, that I am the Lord their God, which 
caused them to be led into captivity among the nations : 
but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have 
left none of them any more there. 29. Neither will I 
hide my face any more from them : for I have poured out 
my Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God. 

COMMENTARY. 

The principal difficulty in the exposition of this pro- 
phecy is to ascertain, what people, and what sovereign, 
Ezekiel means by Magog, and Gog : whether they be 
the same, or not the same, as the apocalyptic Gog and 
Magog ; whether their expedition will be undertaken at 
the beginning, or at the end, of the Millennium. 

Mr. Mede supposes, that they are not the same as the 
apocalyptic Gog and Magog, but only typical of them ; 
that their expedition takes place at the beginning, not at 
the end, of the Millennium ; and that the nation intended 
by them is that of the Turks. The reason, which he as- 
signs for his opinion, is this : that Ezekiel's Gog and 
Magog come out of the north-parts, where the posterity 
of Magog was scattered ; whereas St. John's Gog and 
Magog are said to be nations, which are in the four quar- 
ters of the earth : that Ezekiel's Gog and Magog are to 
be some terrible enemy, which should come against Is. 
rael at the time of their return, and should be destroyed 
by the Lord with a dreadful slaughter ; whereas St. John's 
Gog and Magog are not brought upon the stage till the 
close of the Millennium*. 

Bp. Newton expresses himself much to the same pur- 
pose as Mr. Mede, though somewhat more guardedly 
and indecisively, as if it were possible that the Gog and 
Magog of Ezekiel might be the same as the Gog and 
Magog of St. John. " At the expiration of the thousand 
years" says he, " the restraint shall be taken off from 
wickedness. For a little season, as it was said before, 
Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and make one ef- 

* Mede's Works, B. iii. C. 12. and B» iv. Epist. 41. 



235 

fort more to re-establish his kingdom. As he deceived 
our first parents in the paradisaical state, so he shall have 
the artifice to deceive the nations in this millennial king- 
dom, to shew that no state or condition upon earth is ex- 
empted and secured from sinning. The nations, whom 
he shall deceive, are described as living in the remotest 
parts of the world, in the four quarters of the earth; and 
they are distinguished by the name of Gog and Magog, 
and are said to be as numerous as the sand of the sea. 
Gog and Magog seem to have been formerly the general 
name of the northern nations of Europe and Asia, as the 
Scythians have been since, and the Tartars are at present. 
In Ezekiel there is a famous prophecy concerning Gog 
and Magog ; and this prophecy alludes to that in many 
particulars. Both that of Ezekiel and this of St. John 
remain yet to be fulfilled ; and therefore we cannot be 
absolutely certain that they may not both relate to the 
same event ; but it appears more probable that they re- 
late to different events. The one is expected to take ef- 
fect before, but the other will not take place, till after the 
Millennium. Gog and Magog in Ezekiel are said ex- 
pressly to come from the north -quarters and the north- 
parts ; but in St. John they come from the four quarters 
or corners of the earth. Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 
bend their forces against the Jews resettled in their own 
land ; but in St. John they march up against the saints 
and church of God in general. Gog and Magog in Eze- 
kiel are with very good reason supposed to be the Turks; 
but the Turks are the authors of the second woe; and the 
second woe is past before the third woe; and the third 
woe long precedes the times here treated of. It may 
therefore be concluded, that Gog and Magog ■, as well as 
Sodom and Egypt and Babylon, are mystic names in this 
book ; and the last enemies of the Christian church arc 
so denominated, because Gog and Magog appear to be 
the last enemies of the Jewish nation*." 

To these opinions I can by no means subscribe f. In 
the language of prophecy, a type is usually borrowed from 

* Bp. Newton's Dissert, on Rev. xx. 

f Mr. Lowman and Abp. Newcome suppose, like myself, that the Gog and 
Magog of Ezekiel are the same as Me Gog and Magog of St, John. But, a? 



236 

some state either already destroyed or shortly about to be 
destroyed, and applied to a nation the destruction of which 
is remotely future. Thus Tyre, Sodom, Babylon, and 
Egypt, are all used as types of the spiritual empire of the 
Papacy : and no confusion can arise from such a mode 
of speaking, because all these powers had either fallen 
when the predictions that literally concerned them were 
delivered, or fell shortly after. But, if w T e suppose Eze- 
kiel's Gog and Magog to be typical of St. John's Gog 
and Magog, we must then admit, that a power, the de- 
struction of which was most remotely future even in the 
days of the apostle, may be typical of another power the 
destruction of which is still more remotely future ; and 
consequently we must advance through an infinite series 
of types and antitypes, till we are bewildered in a confu- 
sion of ideas from which it will be no easy matter to ex- 
tricate ourselves. Viewing the matter then in this light, 
I can scarcely think it probable, that St. John would adopt 
a type so necessarily and so needlessly ambiguous. In 
the case of his using Babylon as a type, all is perfectly 
clear : but can an instance be produced in the whole 
Bible, except the present as it is explained by Mr. Mede 
and Bp. Newton, in which a nation, the very existence 
of which was future when St. John wrote (supposing 
with these commentators that Ezekiel's Gog and Magog 
are the Turks), is used to typify another nation, the rise 
of which is yet more remotely future ? 

On this argument however I do not wish to lay too 
great a stress ; for what appears to myself a complete an- 

they do not bring forward any arguments to prove the point, what I am about 
to say upon it will not be altogether superfluous. See Lowman's Paraph, of 
the Revelation in loc. and Abp. Newcome's Ezek. xxxviii. 8, 22. His grace 
very justly refers the latter of these verses to Rev. xx. 8, 9 : but I cannot think 
that the enemies, who assail the Jews at the close of the Millennium, will be 
a mixture of Pagans and Mohammedans ; because the religion of Mohammed, 
or the little horn of the he-goat, will be destroyed previous to the commence- 
ment of the Millennium. It is worthy of observation, that the Rabbies them- 
selves consider the war of Gog and Magog to be perfectly distinct from, and 
posterior to, the destruction of the fourth or Roman beast; but they conceive 
that it will take place soon after their restoration. In this particular, as it 
appears from the Apocalypse, they are mistaken. Indeed, from the data af- 
forded them by Ezekiel, they had no right to draw such a • conclusion. He 
simply places the war of Gog and Magog after the destruction of the mystic 
Edom, and after the restoration of the whole house of Israel ; ho<w long after, 
he no where determines. Mede's Works, B. iv. Epist. 24. 



237 

<omally in the very principle of typical language, may not 
strike others with equal force : let us see then how far 
the assertion, that EzekieVs Gog and Magog will invade 
Palestine at the era of the restoration of the Jews, and 
consequently previous to the commencement of the Millen- 
nium, is well founded. Now so far is this assertion from 
being at all warranted by any thing which the prophet 
says, that he leads us to conclude that the very reverse of 
it is the truth. He represents both the house of Judah 
and the house of Israel as having coalesced into one peo- 
ple ; as having both been restored a considerable length of 
time, for they are said to have gotten cattle and goods, to 
have rebuilt their desolate cities, and to be dwelling in 
the land in all the carelessness of confident security : that 
is to say, he represents them as being in that very state 
of confident security, with which God had promised to 
bless them when the rankling thorn of all their enemies 
should have been removed *. Such then is the condi- 
tion, in which the united kingdom of Judah and Israel xvi\\ 
be at the era of the great invasion of Gog and Magog. 
Now the whole of this certainly implies, that the inva- 
sion will take place after the Millennium has commenc- 
ed : but, if it take place after the Millennium has com- 
menced, we must necessarily fix it either to some inde- 
terminate period in the course of the Millennium, or to the 
end of the Millennium. We learn however from St. John, 
that nothing of the kind will take place in the course of 
the Millennium : it follows therefore, that it must take 
place at the end of it. This matter will be yet more de- 
cidedly evident, if we consider that Ezekiel places the in- 
vasion of Gog and Magog after the return of the house of 
Israel, and its coalition with the house of Judah. Now 
we learn from Isaiah, that Judah will be first restored ; 
that he will be attacked by a confederacy of God's ene- 
mies ; that those enemies will be completely overthrown ; 
that such as escape will be scattered into all countries ; 
and that they will be an instrument of bringing about the 
subsequent restoration of Israel]'. Since then Gog and 
Magog are to invade Palestine after the restoration, not 

* Ezek. xxviii.24, 25, 26. \ Isaiah Ixvi, 5—24. 



238 

©nly of Judah, but of Israel ; since consequently they arc 
to invade it, not previous, but subsequent, to the commence- 
ment of the Millennium ; and since they are to invade 
it after the overthrow of the Antichristian confederacy 
(which synchronizes with the restoration ofJudah and pre- 
cedes that of Israel), when the united tribes have long 
been dwelling confidently in their own land : I see not 
what they can be except the Gog and Magog of St. John *. 
But Mr. Mede and Bp. Newton urge, that Ezekiel's 
'Gog and Magog come from the north, whereas St John's 
Gog and Ma^og come from the four quarters of the earth; 
and that the former attack the Jews only, whereas the lat- 
ter attack the saints and church of God in general. To 
this I reply, that Ezekiel no doubt represents Gog and 
Magog as issuing from the northern regions of Rosh, 
Mesech or Mosoch, and Tubal ; but he likewise repre- 
sents the invading army as composed, not only of these 
northern warriors, but of auxiliaries both from the east, 
the south, and the west. Gog is indeed the chief of the 
confederacy, but he musters under his banners the future 
inhabitants of Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya. He comes 
up as a cloud to cover the land, both he and all his bands 
from their place out of the north-parts, and many people 
with him from the three other quarters of the globe. And, 
when he thus comes up in number like the sand of the 
sea, against whom is his attack directed? Ezekiel tells 
us, The Israelites now dwelling confidently in their own 
land ; St. John tells us, The camp of the saints, and the 
beloved city. Now where is the fancied discordance be- 

* Though Mr. Lowth thinks with Mr. Mede, that Ezekiel's Gog and Magog 
are most probably the Turks, yet he fully acknowledges that their invasion of 
Palestine will take place so'me time after the restoration of the Jews ; a cir- 
cumstance, which amply proves, as I shall presently shew, that they cannot 
be either the Turks or the Antichristian confederacy, and consequently that 
they must be the same as St. John's Gog and Magog. Commenting- on Ezek* 
xxxviii. 8, Mr. Lowth justly observes, that "the sense is, that, after the re- 
turn of the people of Israel into their own country and their having- lived 
there for some time in peace and safety, this enemy will think to take ad- 
vantage of their security, and fall upon' them unexpectedly." He adds, that 
ver. 11 contains « a description of a people that live securely without any ap- 
prehension of danger Compare Jerem. xlix. 31." And he further remarks, 
that in ver. 12. Judea is described as a country that lay desolate before the 
Jews* return into it. After it had been for some time reinhabited, Gog and 
his associates designed to fall upon it with all their forces." See likewise 
his Comment, on ver. 14. 



239 

tween these two accounts ? If the Jews are to be restor- 
ed to the country of their fathers, and to dwell there dur- 
ing the period of the Millennium, the beloved city can 
only be Jerusalem ; and, if the Jews are to be converted 
to Christianity, they are undoubtedly, though perhaps 
not exclusively, the saints that inhabit that beloved city. 
It appears then, that both Ezekiel and St. John equally 
foretell an invasion of Palestine by some powers which 
they equally term Gog and Magog ; that this invasion is 
to take place after the Millennium has commenced ; and 
that it is totally to fail of success, God raining down up- 
on the conductors of it fire from heaven *. Such being 
the case, what authority have we for saying, that the one 
Gog and Magog is a type of the other ; that the two in- 
vasions are two entirely different events ; and that they 
take place, the one at the beginning and the other at the 
end of the Millennium ? 

If from this statement it be allowed, that the expedi- 
tion of Gog and Magog, predicted by Ezekiel, takes 
place at the end of the Millennium, and is consequently 
the same as that predicted by St. John, it will be almost 
superfluous to shew that Ezekiel's Gog and Magog can- 
not be the Turks. Nevertheless, that my position may 
be the more fully established, I shall point out why it is 
utterly impossible that they should be the Turks, even if 
we place their expedition at the era of the restoration of 
the Jews, and immediately before the commencement of 
the Millennium. Mr. Mede himself supposes (what I 
think, consistently with the analogy of the apocalyptic 
phraseology, cannot be doubted \), that the exhaustion 
of the Euphrates under the sixth vial means the subver- 
sion of the Turkish empire ; and he inclines to believe 
(very justly, in my opinion), that the kings, for whom a 
way is prepared by this exhaustion, are the Jews, or (to 
speak more accurately) the Israelites, scattered through 
the East. Now, if such an interpretation be well-found- 
ed, it is obvious, that the Ottoman monarchy will be sub- 
verted previous even to the beginning of the restoration 

* Compare Ezek. xxxviii. 22. with Rev. xx. 9. and see Abp. Newcomc's 
Ezek. in loc. 
f See my Dissert, on the 1260 years, vol. ii. p, 344. f 2d Edit p. 381.) 



240 

of the Israelites. And it is equally obvious, that it will 
be subverted previous to the beginning of the restoration 
of the Jews: because it will be subverted before the con- 
federacy of the Roman beast, the false prophet, and the 
kings of the earth, is gathered to Armageddon ; which 
confederacy will be broken contemporaneously with the 
return of the Jews, under the seventh vial, and at the close 
of the 1260 years *. This being the case, it is manifest, 
that the Turks can have no concern, at least nationally, 
in an invasion of Palestine at the era either of the resto- 
ration of Judah or of Israel (even allowing, that the expe- 
dition of Ezekiel's Gog and Magog then takes place) ; 
and for this plain reason : they will have been broken as 
a people a certain length of time before either the Jews 
or the Israelites even begin to return ; and their subver- 
sion will be instrumental in preparing a way for the Is- 
raelites at least to return. But, according to Ezekiel, the 
expedition of Gog and Magog takes place after the resto- 
ration both of Israel and Judah, and when they have long 
been dwelling confidently in their land: the restoration of 
Israel however does not take place till after the over- 
throw of the Antichristian confederacy ; and the very 
gathering together of the Antichristian confederacy to the 
place of its destruction does not commence till after the 
overthrow of the Ottoman empire f : what possible con- 
nection then can Gog and Magog have with the Turks, 
whether we place their expedition before or after the 
Millennium? A commentator, who lives in the present 
day, might further observe, that we have little cause in- 
deed to believe that Turkey will ever head% a grand ex- 
pedition like that of Ezekiel's Gog and Magog: but mere 
probabilities or improbabilities, deduced from the passing 
aspect of aifairs, and as yet hid in futurity, I am unwil- 
ling to build upon ; we have sufficiently decisive scrip- 
tural evidence without them. 

* Compare Dan.xi 40, 45 xii. 1, 6, 7—- Rev. xiii.5.xvi. 17.xix. 19, 20. 
•j- Isaiah lxvi. 19, 20— Rev. xvi. 12—16. 

* It is not impossible, that some individual Turks and other Mahommeilarr 
may be in the army of Antichrist ; but this falls very far short of Ezekiel's de- 
scription, which plainly represents Gog, whoever he may be, as the head of an 
expedition undertaken by various different nations. 



241 

Here it may be asked, How are we to understand the 
reference which Ezekiel himself gives us to others who 
have foretold this same war of Gog and Magog, if we 
place it at the end rather than at the beginning of the 
Millennium ? " Thus saith the Lord : Art not thou he, 
of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the 
prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many 
years, that I would bring thee against them?" Mr. Mede 
is of opinion, that Ezekiel alludes in this passage to 
Isaiah xxvii. 1. with the two last verses of the foregoing 
chapter; to Jeremiah xxx. 23, 24; to Joel hi. 1. and the 
following verses; and to Micah v. 5, 6, 9, 15. In all 
these references I certainly think Mr. Mede mistaken, 
because I believe that the war of Gog and Magog will 
take place at the close of the Millennium, whereas the 
events predicted in the passages to which he refers will 
come to pass immediately before the commencement of 
the Millennium. Isaiah xxvii. 1* relates to the subversion 
of the Egyptian government, at the period of the restora- 
tion ofJudah, and during the time of unexampled trouble 
mentioned by Daniel*. Jeremiah xxx. 23, 24. relates 
to the overthrow of the Antichristian confederacy at the 
same era, that is to say, at the end of the 1260 years: and, 
after it is thus overthrown, the prophet foretells, in per- 
fect accordance with Isaiah f, the restoration of Ephraim 
or the kingdom of the ten tribes. Joel iii. 1. likewise 
relates to the overthrow of the Antichristian confederacy. 
And Micah v. 5, 6, 9, 15, equally relates to the same 
event, describing the chief of the Roman Babylon, as he 
is elsewhere described by Isaiah J, under the mystic 
name of the Assyria?!. On the whole, since we undoubt- 
edly find nothing in our present Hebrew Scriptures that 
at all resembles the remarkable prophecy of Ezekiel 
respecting Gog and Magog ; whence Eichhorn naturally 
observed, that, as far as we can discern, this great piece 
is entirely new and peculiarly his own § : on the whole, 1 

* Compare- Isaiah xi. 10—16. xvii. xviii. xix. xxvi. 19, 20, 21. xxvii. 1, 6, T, 
12, 13. Dan. xi. 42, 43. xii. 1, 2, 7. 

f Isaiah lxvi. 7 — 24. * Isaiah xiv. 4, 2J. 

§ " In many poems, as far as we can discern, he is really new. The great 
friece of Gog and Magog is his own." Eichhorn's Introduct. to the Old Te* 
lament, cited hv Abp. Newcome, Pref. to Ezekiel, p. xxvii. 

.31 



242 

gay, Abp. Newcome's opinion seems to me the most pro* 
bable, that the prophets of Israel, alluded to by Ezekiel, 
are those, " whose predictions on this subject were never 
committed to writing, or are now lost*." Yet I think 
we may discover a remote hint of the war of Gog and 
Magog in Daniel vii. 12, 13, 14. The prophet, having 
foretold the destruction of the great Roman beast in all 
his members and of his tyrannical little horn, in other 
words, of the Antichristian confederacy of the beast, the 
false prophet, and the kings of the Latin earth, informs 
us concerning the rest of the beasts, namely the Babyloni- 
an, the Medo- Persian, and the Macedonian, that, although 
their dominion should be taken away, yet their lives 
should be prolonged for a season and a time ; and he 
afterwards declares, that he beheld in the night visions 
the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven. How 
[hen can we understand the prolongation of the lives of 
these three beasts after the overthrow of the Roman con- 
federacy by the Ancient of days, and to the period of a 
certain subsequent revelation of the Son of man, except 
that the future inhabitants of those three empires should 
be preserved after the destruction of Antichrist, and dur- 
ing the millennial! reign of the saints, and that they should 
at length make their appearance upon the stage as a se- 
cond grand Antichristian confederacy termed by Ezekiel 
and St. John Gog and Magog ? 

Still on a subject, so confessedly difficult and myste- 
rious as that respecting which we are treating, the reader 
may continue to have his doubts, and may be disposed 
to ask ; Why may not EzekieVs Gog and Magqg be, not 
indeed the Turks, for that is plainly impossible, but the 
great Antichristian confederacy which will be destroyed 
at the era of the restoration of Judah ? They have cer- 
tainly many points of resemblance in common : they both 
Invade Palestine from the north ; they both attack the 
Jews ; and they both perish partly supernaturally , and 
partly by internal discord^. Why then may we not sup- 
pose them to be the same: and consequently that Mr. Mede 
is at least right in that part of his scheme, which makes 

* Translation of Ezekiel in loc. 

f Compare Ezck. xxxviii. 21, 22. with Zechar. xii. 4. xiv. 3, 4, 12, IS. 



243 

the Gog and Magog of Ezekiel to be entirely different 
from the Gog and Magog of St. John ? 

To this I answer, that the two expeditions of Ezeki- 
el's Gog and Magog and the Antichristian confederacy 
certainly resemble each other in these points, although 
even in these the resemblance is far from being perfect ; 
for Gog and Magog invade Palestine, not merely from 
the north, but (as it appears from the description of their 
allies) from the east, the south, and the west, that is (in 
the language of St. John) from the four quarters of the 
earth ; whereas the Antichristian confederacy invades Pa- 
lestine solely from the north, and, after passing through it 
in the full tide of success, subjugates Egypt, Libya, and 
Ethiopia*. But, whatever partial resemblance there may 
be between the two expeditions, since they differ in the 
three grand points of time, of persons, and of circumstan- 
ces, it is not easy to conceive how they can be identifi- 
ed — Their difference in time has already been shewn. 
The Antichristian expedition takes place during the resto- 
ration of Judah, and prior to the restoration of Israel : 
the Magogian expedition takes place after the restoration 
both of Judah and Israel, after they have coalesced into 
one people, after they have been long securely dwelling 
in their own land under David their prince — Their dif- 
ference in the persons, respectively engaged in each, is 
even yet more remarkable. The Jews begin to be re- 
stored at the close of the 1260 years ; the power of the 
Roman beast and his little horn begins to be broken at 
the same period; the confederacy of the Roman beast, the 
false prophet, and the kings of the Latin earth, begins 
to be overthrown under the seventh vial, likewise at the 
same period ; the infidel king, or the atheistical Anti- 
christ of the last days, comes to his end also at the same 
period ; the Jews themselves, as we have seen, under- 
stand the mystic Edom, which the Lord destroys at the 
time of their restoration, to mean the Roman empire : 
from all which we must unavoidably conclude, that the 
great confederacy, which is destined to be overthrown at 
the close of the 1260 years, and which is noticed more or 

* Dan. xi. 43. 



less explicitly by almost every prophet who foretells the 
return of Judah, will be composed of powers situated 
within the limits of the ancient Roman empire. If then 
Ezekiel's Gog and Magog be the same as the Antichris- 
tian confederacy, we may expect to find both them and 
their allies described as being Roman powers, and as an- 
swering exactly to the ten-horned beast, the little horn or 
false prophet, the infidel king, and his associated vassal 
kings. Not the least similarity however can be discover- 
ed between the persons who compose the confederacy of 
Gog and Magog, and those who compose the confederacy 
of Antichrist. On the contrary, as the Antichristian con- 
federacy is plainly a Roman one ; so the Magogian con- 
federacy does not comprehend a single Roman power, but 
is entirely composed of the relics of the three first em- 
pires, which Daniel assures us should have their lives pre- 
served after the destruction of the Roman beast, though 
their dominion of power of injuring the Church should 
be taken away. According to Ezekiel, the confederacy 
of Gog will consist of Magog, Rosh, Mesech, Tubal, Per- 
sia, Cush, Phut, Gomer, and Togarmah. Now let the 
reader consult the map which Bochart has prefixed to the 
first book of his Sacred Geography, and he will find every 
one of these nations seated within the limits of the three 
first great empires, although some of their colonies doubt- 
less extended beyond them. In Asia Minor he will per- 
ceive Gomer, Tubal, and Togarmah ; close to Tubal he 
will see the Moschic hills; a small distance further east he 
will find Rosh or Rhos; due north of Rosh, Mesech, Gog 
and Magog ; in Syria, another colony of Magog ; in the 
region of Babylon and in Arabia, Chut or Cush * ; and 

* " Nos asserimus omnes Chusi filios, quos hie naminat Moses habitasse 
circa mare Persicurn, praeter Nemrodum, quern Babylonem migrasse testatur 
Moses" (Bochart. Geog. Sacr. L. iv. C. 3.). In after ages the posterity of 
this patriarch astonishingly spread themselves. We find, them in Colchis upon 
the Euxine ; in Egypt; in Thrace, in Thessaly, and in Greece, the seat of the 
third great empire ; in Babylon and in Persia, the two other great empires. 
(See Bryant's Anal. vol. iii. p. 443—601.). " The land of Cush in holy Writ 
(commonly, but by mistake, rendered Ethiopia J is properly that district' of 
Arabia, where the sons of Cush first settled. But, as this race multiplied 
exceedingly, and spread, not only into other parts of Arabia, but eastward, 
round the head of the Persian gulph, to the confines of Susiana ; and west- 
ward, across the Arabian gulph, into the region since called Abyssinia, which 
extended along the coast from Ptolemais to Arsinoe, and inland to the very 



245 

in Africa immediately west of Egypt, Phut, Peres or 
Persia, which completes Ezekiel's catalogue, was itself 
the head of the second of the four great empires. Having 
thus ascertained the situation of these powers, let the rea- 
der next fix his eye upon Palestine, and imagine a joint 
invasion of it to take place from all these countries at 
once ; and he will plainly see how exactly St. John's ac- 
count tallies with Ezekiel's, that is to say, he will per- 
ceive that an invasion of Palestine jointly undertaken by 
the nations which Ezekiel enumerates would necessarily 
come from the four quarters of the earth, north, south, 
east, and west. Since then the Antichristian confederacy is 
a Roman one, and since the Magogian confederacy is not 
a Roman one, they certainly cannot be the same. And, 
since the Magogian confederacy is composed of the re- 
lics of the three first empires, since the lives of those 
empires are to be preserved after the fall of the Roman 
empire, and since the confederacy itself is not to be formed 
till some time after the restoration of Israel; I know not 
what it can be except the confederacy , which St. John 
similarly terms Gog and Magog* — The circumstantial 
difference between the Antichristian and the Magogian 
confederacies will close the argument. The Antichristian 

sources of the Nile : the land of Cush is often taken more largely for a great 
tract of country, not only comprehending the whole of Arabia Felix, but hav- 
ing for its eastern boundary the branch of the Tigris below the town of Asia, 
and for its western boundary the Nile." Bp. Horsley's Letter on Isaiah 
xviii. p. 93. 

* The discussion of this interesting prophecy serves to shew, that I was 
right in lassigning the expedition, foretold in Dan. xi. 40—45, to the infidel 
ting, and not (with Bp. Newton) to the king of the North. Since that expedi- 
tion is contemporary with the restoration offudah at the close of the 1260 years 
(Dan. xii. 1,7.), it can only be an expedition undertaken by some Roman 
power, which shall then either be the last head of the beast, or at least his most 
powerful horn. Now the wilful king is allowed on all hands to be a Roman 
power, whether he be the empire in general, the Pope, or Antichristian France . 
whereas the northern king seems plainly not to be a Roman power. But the 
expedition during the restoration of the yews is to be undertaken by a Roman 
power i and the wilful king, confessedly a Roman power, is at this very era 
engaged in hostilities with the northern king : hence it is plain, that, in or- 
der to avoid a palpable contradiction, we must ascribe the expedition iu 
question, not to the northern king, but to the wilful king. Thus, what the con 

cinnity of Daniel's prophecy evidently required, is proved by the instrumen- 
tality of another prophecy. The only expedition into Palestine at the era of 

the restoration of the jfews is the Roman one : the expedition therefore, here 
predicted by Daniel, must undoubtedly be ascribed to the Antichristian Ro 

'.nan king, not to his northern antagonist. Sec mv Disvert. w the 1260 year*, 

*0l I p. 352—356. (2d Edit. p. 384—400.) 



246 

•confederacy will at first prove successful, will overrun 
the whole of Palestine, will take Jerusalem, will conquer 
Egypt, and will reduce the Libyans and Cushim to some 
kind of subjection*. The Magogian confederacy will 
not be at all successful : at least Ezekiel does not give 
us the slightest hint that it will ; and St. John, if it be 
allowed that he speaks of it, explicitly declares, that, 
although it will encamp around the beloved city, it shall 
not be able to take it, but shall be destroyed by fire from 
heaven. Of the Antwhristian confederacy a third part 
will be spared and converted, and when scattered through 
all nations will be instrumental in bringing about the re- 
storation of Israel^. Of the Magogian confederacy a sixth 
part only will be spared; for, although God will not even 
then forget to be merciful, yet the superior guilt of this 
last, as having the fate of its audacious precursor before 
its eyes, and therefore not being able to plead an equal 
degree of ignorance, will doubtless deserve a more se- 
vere punishment J. 

The sum of the whole is this : since the Magogian con- 
federacy of Ezekiel can neither be the Ottomon enipire y 
nor the Roman Antichristian confederacy ; since it does 
not commence its expedition till so long after the resto- 
ration both of Judah and Israel, that they have coalesced 

* Isaiah xi. 15. xix. 4. xxvii. 12. Dan. xi. 41 — 45. Zechar. x. 11. xiv. 2. 

f Compare Zechar. xiii. 8. and Isaiah lxvi. 19. 

i Ezek. xxxix. 2. It is proper however to observe, that the word Ntt>c>, ren- 
dered by our translators to leave a sixth part, is rendered by the lxx as 
meaning 1 to lead, by the Vulgate to bring out, and. by the Targum to seduce. 
But in this case the difference will still be no less striking 1 between the fate of 
the two confederacies ; for of the one we are plainly taught that a third part 
shall be spared, whereas of the other we may infer that all will perish (See 
Ezek. xxxviii. 21, 22. xxxix. 4, 5, 9—16.). Buxtorf translates the word, to 
drag with a six-pronged hook, supposing it to allude to Chap, xxxviii. 4 : and 
R. D. Kimchi, to afflict with a six-fold pwiishment, supposing it to allude to 
the six plagues mentioned in Chap, xxxviii. 22. The fact is, the word only 
occurs once in the whole Bible : hence we have this uncertainty of interpre- 
tation, and hence I did not think myself authorized in rejecting our present 
translation. Yet, when we recollect that the destruction of Gog is at the end 
of the Millennium, and immediately before the general day of judgment, I 
cannot refrain from thinking, that our translation (although I have retained 
it) is of all the others the least likely to be the right one. The most obvious 
derivation of N!2>ty is nevertheless from ctP six; whence I much incline to 
think, that Buxtorf s interpretation is the best. Kimchi's seems too much 
laboured, and too far fetched. Abp. Newcome retains, as I have thought 
it most prudent to do, our common English version. 



247 

into one people, and are dwelling securely in their land ; 
since therefore it must begin to act after the commence- 
ment of the Millennium ; since we have every reason to 
believe, that it will not begin to act during the Millenni- 
um, so that one part of the Millennium should precede 
and the other succeed it ; since consequently it will not 
begin to act till the close of the Millennium ; since we 
find it composed of the relics of the three Jirst empires, 
the lives of which Daniel declares shall be preserved af- 
ter the overthrow of the Roman beast ', and therefore during 
the Millennium, for there is no other period during which 
they can be preserved, if they be preserved beyond the 
destruction of the Roman beast; since St. John predicts, 
that, at this very era, namely the close of the Millennium^ 
when we may expect the expedition of EzekiePs Gog and 
Magog to be undertaken, a similar expedition will be un- 
dertaken by a confederacy which he similarly terms Gog 
and Magog, and that too from the regions marked out 
by Ezekiel, (he four quarters of the earth ; and lastly, 
since both Ezekiel and St. John agree, that each expedi- 
tion will totally fail of success, and that the respective 
Gog and Magog of each will be miraculously destroyed 
by fire from heaven: when the whole argument in short 
is considered in all its bearings, what conclusion can we 
arrive at, except that the Gog and Magog of Ezekiel arc 
the Gog and Magog of St. John ? 

Having now sufficiently anticipated any objections that 
might have been made, so far as Gog and Magog are con- 
cerned, to my proposed interpretation of the present pro- 
phecy, I shall proceed to discuss it at large. And here 
I apprehend, the parallel prediction of St. John will be 
found of essential use, inasmuch as it treats of the same 
events in precisely the same order. The only difference 
indeed between the two prophets is this : Ezekiel pecu- 
liarly directs our attention to the children of Israel, and 
connects the history of their restoration with the successive 
confederacies of Antichrist and Gog and Magog, the one 
previous to the commencement of the Millennium, the other 
at its close ; whereas St. John, writing the prophetic his- 
tory of the church in general, does not notice the Jews 
otherwise than as involved in that church, but simply 



248 

gives lis an accdunt of the overthrow first of the Aoman 
Antichristian confederacy, and afterwards of the Magogian 
confederacy. 

I consider the whole of Ezekiel from the 34<th to the 
39th chapter inclusive, as one continued prophecy : for, 
if we attempt to divide these evidently connected chap- 
ters from each other, where shall w r e draw the line? 
where shall we say that the one prophecy ends, and that 
the other begins ? 

Ezekiel first notices the dispersion of Israel through the 
tyranny of their shepherds or rulers, who, after grinding 
their faces and treating them in all respects as a conquered 
and debased people, instead of ruling them with gentle- 
ness and consulting their political happiness, at length be- 
came instruments in the hand of God of dispersing them 
through all countries. From these shepherds, or (in li- 
teral exactness of speech) from their successors and re- 
presentatives the powers of the Roman empire in its last 
or broken form, God, at the time of the ena, will require 
his flock. He will set his face against these tyrannical 
shepherds, who have so long persecuted his scattered 
people, and will cause them to cease from feeding the 
flock. He will not suffer them to feed themselves any 
more, or to harrass, like their Roman predecessors, the 
wretched Jews with endless extortion and oppression : 
but he will deliver his flock from their mouth that they 
may be no more meat for them. As soon as the ap- 
pointed period shall arrive, he will search his sheep, and 
bring them back into their own land from all the coun- 
tries whither they have 'been dispersed. He will feed 
them in a good pasture upon the mountains of Israel, by 
the rivers, and in all the inhabited places : and will set 
up one shepherd over them, the mystical David, even 
Christ the Lord. 

At this era however of their first restoration, or the 
restoration of Judah, the prophet notices a remarkable 
distinction in the flock, which will serve to explain an 
apparent contradictoriness of some prophecies to others- 
We are generally led to conclude, that the Jews will be 
converted previous to their restoration, but Zechariah un- 



249 

doubtedly speaks of their being converted after it*. 
How then are we to reconcile this discrepancy ? Ezekiel 
teaches us, that at the time of the restoration God will 
judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and 
the he-goats. He will make a marked distinction be- 
tween the fat cattle f, and between the lean cattle ; be- 
tween those that trample down the pastures and foul the 
waters, and between those who are constrained to eat 
what is trodden down and to drink what is fouled ; be- 
tween those that push with the shoulder and thrust with 
the horn, and between the weak who are scattered abroad 
by this unnatural cruelty of their fellows. Yet both 
these different descriptions of cattle are equally consider- 
ed as the flock ; and are placed in contradistinction to the 
Leasts of the earth, or the tyrannical Roman powers under 
the influence of Antichrist and the false prophet. By the 
goats therefore we must obviously understand certain un- 
converted Jews ; and by the rams, such as are converted. 
Now it manifestly appears from the tenor of the prophe- 
cy, that both the rams and the goats will equally return to 
Palestine ; and that, when they have thus returned, there 
will be a bitter dissention between them, the goats la- 
bouring by all possible means to injure and expel the 
rams. It further appears from other prophecies, that the 
rams or converted Jews will be restored by the instru- 
mentality of the then prevailing protectant European mar- 
itime power ; and that Antichrist and his host will at that 
periocl invade Palestine, and occupy Jerusalem. Thus 
we learn, from comparing these several prophecies with 
each other, that four different descriptions of persons will 
then be collected together in Palestine : the great mari- 
time power ; the converted Jews ; the Antichristian con- 
federacy, and the unconverted Jews, The converted Jews 

* See Zechar. xii. 9—14. 

\ Abp. Newcome translates Chap, xxxiv. vcr. 16. / %ii{l keep the fat and 
the strong, instead of Iivill destroy the fat and the strong ,■ substituting* nDITN f« r 
the common reading -vou'N This alteration appears to me very injudicious. 
for the prophet is plainly distinguishing- between the fat and the strong and 
the lean and the feeble. Accordingly the distinction in question is afterwards 
pointed out again, and the reasons for making- it are stated at large. See ver. 
20. and ver. 17—23. But his grace's alteration entirely destroys the distinc- 
tion ; and, as it seems to me, materially injures, instead of improving-, the 
sense of the passage. 

32 



250 

we know will be restored by the agency of the maritime 
power: and how are we to account for the appearance of 
the unconverted Jews, at the same time, in the same coun- 
try, and in direct opposition to their converted brethren, 
except by supposing that they are in league with Anti- 
christ, and have been brought back into their own land 
for political purposes by his instrumentality? In the dread- 
ful conflict many of the goats will perish ; for God hath 
declared, that he will destroy the fat and the strong : 
many also of the rams will be slain ; for God hath taught 
us, that, although he will surely chasten his people in 
exact measure, yet he will not make a full end of them, 
as he will of the nations their enemies. But at length, 
when the appointed time shall come, such goats as sur- 
vive the slaughter of their fellows will perceive their er- 
ror, and repent them of their sins. They will look upon 
him whom they have pierced, and mourn for him as one 
that mourneth for his only son*. They will acknow- 
ledge their fault to their converted brethren, and will be 
reconciled to them. And they will jointly form only one 
flock, under one shepherd, David their king. 

Thus, so far as matters of this kind are capable of 
proof, the opinion of Bp. Horsley, or at least something 
very like his opinion, seems to be proved f. " I have an 
unfashionable partiality," says he in his letter to Mr. 
King, " for the opinions of antiquity. I think there is 
ground in the prophecies for the notion of the early 
fathers, that Palestine is the stage, on which Antichrist, 
in the height of his impiety, will perish. I am much 
inclined too to assent to another opinion of the fathers ; 
that a small band of the Jews will join Antichrist, and be 
active instruments of his persecutions J. And I agree with 

* Zechar. xii. 10. 

f Vide supra Comment, on Proph. VII. 

\ The reader will find the various sentiments of the fathers, relative to 
Antichrist, collected together by Calmet in his Dictionary. Among- other 
matters he mentions the supposition, ■« that the Jews will be the first, who will 
declare for him, acknowledge his dominion, and enjoy the principal employ- 
ments in his government. He will win upon them by his delusions, his ca- 
resses, and false miracles, and by all the appearances of goodness, piety, and 
clemency ; so that this unhappy people will take him for the Messiah, and 
will flatter themselves with the expectation of seeing" the kingdom of Israel 
restored, by his means, to its former splendor." 



251 

you, that it is not unlikely, that this small part of the 
Jews will be settled in Jerusalem, under the protection, 
of Antichrist. But it is not to the settlement of this apos- 
tate band, that the prophecy of the ISth chapter of Isaiah 
relates. — The people, brought as a present to Jehovah to 
mount Zion, will be brought thither in a converted state. 
The great body of the Jewish people will be converted 
previous to their restoration ; and, being converted, will 
be assisted, by Christian nations of the uncircumcision, 
in settling themselves in their ancient seats. I agree with 
you, that some passages, inZechariah in particular, make 
strongly for this notion of a previous settlement of worse 
than unconverted Jexvs. But I am not without hope, from 
the same passages, that the great body of the converted 
Jews returning will find those first settlers, broken off from 
the Antichristian faction, in a state of deep contrition, and 
ready to receive their brethren with open arms. So the 
whole race shall be offered to Jehovah at mount Zion, and 
not one of Israel shall be lost. And so far, but no farther, 
I can admit an inchoate restoration of the Jews, antecedent 
to their conversion ; and a settlement of a small body of 
them, in the Holy Land, by the Antichristian powers ." 

In some points of less moment I cannot quite agree 
with his Lordship, but I am persuaded that his opinion 
itself is perfectly well-founded. He seems to consider 
the destruction of Antichrist as being past, and the uncon- 
verted Jews as being penitent, at the time when their con- 
verted brethren arrive under the protection of the mari- 
time power. Whereas Ezekiel leads us to conclude, 
that the goats will war upon the rams ; and, not content 
with acquiring a settlement themselves, will do all in their 
power to prevent their return. He likewise inclines to 
believe, that only a small body of the Jews will be re - 
stored in their unbelieving state by Antichrist ; and that 

In my Dissertation on the 1260 years, 1 have conjectured that the primary 
revelation of Antichrist took place in the year 1789, when the French revolu- 
tion commenced. It is somewhat remarkable, that Peter Dailly was of opi- 
nion, that, according 1 to his observations, Antichrist must appear in this very 
year 1789 ; but 1 know not on what his observations were grounded (Cal- 
met's Diet. Vox Antichrist). It is equally remarkable, that the present head 
of the Antichristian faction has recently been hailed by the tfeivs of Frankfort 
as their long-expected Messiah. 



252 

by far the greatest part of them will be brought back by 
the ?nantime power in a believing state. But when we 
consider the almost exclusive influence which Antichris- 
tian Finance already exerts over the papal Roman empire ; 
and when we further consider, that at the close of the 
1260 years it will have succeeded in completely organ- 
izing a vast confederacy of the whole of that empire*: 
we can scarcely suppose, that its power will be so limited 
as to extend only to a small body of the Jews. After the 
formation of this tremendous confederacy, it is not easy to 
conceive how the protestant maritime power will be able 
to take under its protection any Jexvs excepting such as 
are out of the reach of the confederacy ; those, for in- 
stance, who will then be scattered throughout Britain, 
Sweden, the maritime parts of Russia, America, Africa, 
and the coasts of Asia. Those therefore, who are within 
the reach of the confederacy, that is to say, those who are 
scattered through the papal Roman empire, can hardly be 
thought to constitute only a small body ; unless some 
very remarkable emigration of the Jews from popish into 
protestant countries should previously take place. This 
opinion seems to be confirmed by what Zechariah says 
on the subject. He represents the Jews, who will be 
converted after their return, as constituting a very large 
body of men ; so large indeed, that, were we not prevented 
by the explicit declarations of other prophecies, we should 
be in danger of fancying, as some actually Iwve fancied, 
that the general conversion of the whole house of Judah 
would succeed their restoration. What proportion in- 
deed the converted Jews restored by the maritime power 
will bear to the unconverted Jews restored by Antichrist, 
it is impossible, and therefore it would be absurd, to at- 
tempt to determine: but we may venture to say, arguing 
at least from probabilities, that a very large body will be 
brought back by each; and that the goats, or unconverted 
Jexvs, will attempt, in conjunction with the armies ofAn- 

* See Joel iii. 2. Zechar. xii. 2. Dan. ii. 34, 35, 44, 45.—vii. 11. Rev. xvi, 
14. — xix. 18, 19, 20. The general expression of the beast, the false prophet, 
and the kings of the earth, that is the Lathi earth or habitable world {oiy-Hf^m) 
as the Romans were wont to term their extensive dominions, certainly teaches 
us, that the confederacy will comprehend the whole empire of the revived beast T 
or the whole papal Roman empire: 



twhrist, to prevent the return of the rams, or the .con- 
verted Jews. 

The prophet having foretold the restoration of Judah 
partly in a converted and partly in an unconverted state, 
is now directed to set his face against Edom and mount 
Scir, as he had been commanded in the beginning of his 
prediction to set his face against the tyrannical shepherds 
who had scattered and oppressed God's flock. We have- 
already seen, that Edom is used as a type of the Roman 
empire ; and, from his immediate connection in the pre- 
sent instance with the restoration of Judah, we are obliged 
to conclude that he typifies that empire here alsoi Edom, 
then is the same as the shepherds ; who scattered the Jews 
while Pagan, and who will be destroyed in the act of 
fighting against them while papal. Against this Roman 
Edom God will stretch out his hand, and will make him 
a desolation and a desolation ; because he has had a per- 
petual hatred against the children of Israel, and has shed 
their blood by the force of the sword, in the time of their 
iniquity in the end, or during the period of their last (that 
is, their present) apostasy and dispersion. The Jews in- 
deed were evidently objects of the divine wrath ; they 
were scattered throughout all countries; and were a pro- 
verb and a by-word among the nations : but that circum- 
stance afforded no warrant for the atrocities of popish 
persecutors, nor did the wickedness of Judah exculpate 
them from blood- guiltiness. Edom therefore is prepared 
for blood. Since, in every period of his history from his 
first rise to the formation of his last Anticliristian confe- 
deracy, he hath not hated blood, even blood shall pursue 
him*. In the pride of his political speculations he had 

* Behold Edom in his pagan days of conquest and ambitious affectation of 
universal empire. •« After this I saw in the night-visions, and behold, a fourth 
beast, dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly ; and it had great iron 
teeth: it devoured, and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the 
feet of it" — View him next while under the influence of hit tittle apostate 
horn. " It was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome 
them"---Consider the adulterous cliurcli, for whose polluted communion he ex- 
changed his ancient pagan abominations, and to whom lie hath ever lent him- 
self an indefatigable tool of persecution "I saw the woman drunken with 
the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jcsus"---Sec him 
lastly, under the united influence of Antichrist and the false prophet, intro- 
ducing*, as yet unsated with slaughter, new scenes of havock, blood, and de- 
solation, His leader, t he infidel king, "shall go forth with great fury I 



254 

said, The land of these two nations Israel and Judah shall 
be mine : I rvill possess it : I will make it a province of 
my empire, conveniently subservient from its central situ- 
ation to my future schemes of yet more extensive aggran- 
disement. Thus he : whereas the Lord was there. The 
Lord, who hath heard all his contemptuous speeches 
against Israel, and all his words which he hath multi- 
plied even against the Lord, will suddenly go forth in 
his great wrath to judge him. As he rejoiced at the 
desolation of Jacob, so shall he become a desolation of 
desolations while the whole earth rejoiceth. 

The fall ofEdom shall be the rise of the house of Israel. 
They, who had long been scattered through all the lands, 
monuments of God's vengeance ; they, who had profaned 
his holy name by calling themselves his people, when they 
were manifestly rejected of him : shall now be restored, 
though not for their own sakes ; and shall be admitted 
into a new and spiritual covenant with the Lord. Judah 
and Israel shall both be brought back ; but the house of 
Judah first. Although they have so long been politically 
and nationally dead, that they may be compared, not 
merely to putrid corpses, but to dry bones: yet they shall 
assuredly rise again, bone to his bone ; shall resume their 
rank among the nations; and shall become, in the highest 
sense of the words, God's own people, a peculiar people 
zealous of good works, a people constantly living under 
the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit. Judah and 
Israel however shall be no longer, as formerly, two king- 
doms. As the two sticks became one in the hand of Eze- 
kiel ; so shall the two kindred nations become one in the 
hand. of the Lord. And, as the literal David reigned first 
over Judah separately, and afterwards over Judah and Is- 
ra?/ jointly*; so shall the mystical David first reign over 

stroy, and with a bitter religious anathema to devote many to utter destruc- 
tion. He shall plant the curtains of his pavilion between the seas in the glo- 
rious holy mountain : and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and 
the women ravished. And I saw the beast," and the false prophet, " and 
the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war 
against him that sat on the horse, and against his army." 

After such multiplied deeds of violence and bloodshed, can we wonder, 
that vengeance, however slow-footed, should at length overtake him ? " He, 
that killeth with the sword, must be killed with the sword/' Sdom hath 
not hated blood, therefore* blood shall pursue him. 

* 2 Sam. v. £ 



255 

the House o/Judah for a short time separately, and after- 
wards over Judah and Israel now for ever united. When 
Judah is restored and converted, and when the confede- 
racy of Antichrist is broken ; " then shall come all the 
tribes of Israel unto David, and shall speak, saying; 
Thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel ; 
thou shalt henceforth therefore feed the Lord's people; 
thou shalt be a captain over Israel ; thou art the anointed 
king, the Messiah of God*." With this united kingdom 
the Lord will make an everlasting covenant of peace. He 
will establish them, and set his sanctuary in the midst of 
them for evermore. He will be their God, and they shall 
be his people. 

We have seen the restoration of Judah partly in a con- 
verted and partly in an unconverted state, the destruction 
of the mystic Edom or the Roman Antichristian faction, 
the political resurrection of Judah and Israel after their 
long national extinction, their coalition into one people un- 
der one king the Messiah, and their unexampled prospe- 
rity and happiness in the land of their fathers while living 
in covenant with God and beholding his sanctuary in the 
midst of them : we have seen, in short, the commence- 
ment of that season oj blessedness, which is usually deno- 
minated the Millennium. The prophet now directs our 
attention to a new enemy of the Church, whom he styles 
Gog and Magog. That this new enemy cannot be the 
same as Edom or the Roman confederacy, is plain, both 
from the time when he makes his appearance, namely at 
some indefinite period after the commencement of the 
Millennium ; from the countries whence he draws his 
forces, which are without the limits of the papal Roman 
empire; and from various circumstances in his prophetic 
history, which do not accord with the prophetic history 
of the Roman Antichristian confederacy as elsewhere de- 
tailed : to all which may be added the improbability, 
that Ezekiel, after he has described the downfal of that 
confederacy under the mystic name of Edom exactly at 
the era where other predictions had taught us to look 
for it, the era of the restoration of Judah ; should now 
afresh describe its downfal under a different mystical 

* 2 Sam. v. 1, 2, 3 



256 

name not used by any one of the ancient prophets, and 
that too at an era where no other predictions had taught 
us to look for it, an era posterior to the restoration of the 
house of 'Israel 'and the commencement of the Millennium. 
Ezekiel only teaches us, that the expedition of Gog and 
Magog should be undertaken, when the united Jews and 
Israelites were dwelling in careless security under David 
their king in their own land, when they had spread them- 
selves through all the un walled villages, when they had 
become rich in cattle and goods, and when living under 
the immediate protection of heaven they little expected 
any assault from man ; in other words, that it should be 
undertaken at some indefinite period after the commence- 
ment of the Millennium : but St. John is more explicit \ 
he fixes this period to a thousand years, either natural or 
prophetic, after the season of great blessedness has com- 
menced. The confederacy however of Gog and Magog 
Will be even less successful than that of Antichrist. While 
these apostates surround the beloved city, fire from hea- 
ven will descend upon them ; God will rain upon them 
an overflowing rain, a rain of hail -stones, fire and brim- 
stone ; and, agitated with the madness of terror, those, 
who escape the devastating tempest, will turn every man 
his sword against his brother. Yet even of these incor- 
rigible offenders will God mercifully spare the sixth 
part*, as he had already spared the third part of the Anti- 
christian confederacy. Thus magnifying his great name, 
will the Lord shew to all nations, that, as he scattered the 
children of Israel for their sins, so, after he has restored 
them at once to their own land and to the privileges of 
his covenant, he will cause them to dwell in confident 
security, and will suffer none to make them afraid. 

Thus, it appears, that Ezekiel arranges the events 
which are to take place during the latter days f , in the 

* I have already stated the uncertain meaning- of the word N£'!i> ; and have 
observed, that, however it be translated, the present argument will not be at 
all affected. Whether Gog and Magog be totally destroyed, or whether a 
sixth part be left, there will be no correspondence between their fate and 
that of the Antichristian confederacy; of which Isaiah teaches us that a consi- 
derable number shall be spared, while Zechariah more definitely limits that 
number to a third part of the whole. See Isaiah lxvi. 19. and Zechar. xiii. 8. 

f The latter days, or the end of the days, denotes in the Old Testament that 
portion of time) which begins at the termination of the great Apostasy of 1260 



257 

following order : 1. The restoration of Judah partly in 
a converted and partly in an unconverted state, and the 
contemporary war between the two parties supported by 
their several allies the maritime nation and Antichrist ; 
2. The destruction of Antichrist and his Roman colleagues 
under the general mystic name of Edom, and the Lord's 
vindication of himself for restoring so stubborn a race as 
that of the Jews ; 3. The national resurrection of Jadah 
and Israel to which the overgrown power of Antichrist 
was the only impediment, and their everlasting union 
under the mystic David their prince ; 4. The commence- 
ment of the Millennial! season of blessedness and tran- 
quillity ; 5. The destruction of Gog and Magog. 

Precisely the same order is observed by St. John, with 
this only difference, that, treating of the Church at large, 
he does not particularly notice the restoration of Israel, 
but contents himself with only obscurely intimating that 
the exhaustion of the symbolical Euphrates, or the over- 
throw of the Ottoman empire, should prepare a way for 
the kings from the east : 1. The gathering together of 
the Antichristian confederacy to Megiddo in the land of 
Palestine, the country which extends 1600 furlongs, the 
region between the two seas ; 2. Its overthrow in that 
country by the miraculous intervention of the personal 
Word of God ; 3. The first resurrection, either literal 
or symbolical *, of the saints, and their reign with Christ 
during the period of the Millennium ; 4. The expedition 
and destruction of Gog and Magog. 

It is impossible to avoid being struck with the exact 
correspondence between Ezekiel and St. John, in the 
order of their respective details. If then the arguments, 
which I have already adduced, be well-founded ; and if 
this correspondence be allowed to exist : we must come 
to the conclusion, that the Gog and Magog of Ezekiel 
are the same as the Gog and Magog of St. John ; and 
consequently that their expedition will take place, not 
before the commencement, but at the end of the Millen- 
nium. 

years, and which expires at the end of the Millennium and at the consummation 
of all things. See the menning-ofthis phrase discussed in my Dissert, on the 
V260 year.?, Chap. iii. 
* See my Dissert, on the 1260 rears, Vol. I. r>. 56. Note * (2d Edit). 
33 



258 



PROPHECY XXVI. 

Descriptive character of the fioivers that will compose the Anti* 
christian confederacy — The progress of Antichrist to Palestine 
~ — His overthrow there — The restoration of Judah during a time 
of great trouble at the close of the 1260 years. 

Dan. ii. 40. The fourth kingdom shall be strong as 
iron : forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdu- 
eth all things : and, as iron that breaketh all these, shall 
it break in pieces and bruise. 41. And, whereas thou 
sawest the feet and toes, part of potter's clay and part of 
iron, the kingdom shall be divided : but there shall be 
in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou saw- 
est the iron mixed with the miry clay. 42. And, as the 
toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so 
the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken. 
43. And, whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry 
clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men ; 
but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is 
not mixed with clay. 44. And in the days of these kings 
shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall 
never be destroyed : and the kingdom shall not be left to 
other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all 
these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever : 45. Foras- 
much as thou sawest — 34. — till that a stone was cut out 
without hands, which smote the image upon his feet 
that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 
35. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver ? 
and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like 
the chaff of the summer threshing floors ; and the wind 
carried them away, that no place was found for them : 
and the stone, that smote the image, became a great 
mountain, and filled the whole earth. 

vii. 7. After this I saw in the night-visions, and, be- 
hold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong 
exceedingly ; and it had great iron teeth : it devoured 
and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the 
feet of it : and it was diverse from all the beasts that went 
before it ; and it hud ten horns. 8. I considered the ho.rns,- 



■ 



259 

and behold, there came up among them another little 
horn, before whom there were three of the first horns 
plucked up by the roots : and behold, in this horn there 
were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking 
great things. 9. I beheld, till the thrones were set, and 
the ancient of days did sit: — 10. — the judgment was set, 
and the books were opened. 11. I beheld then, because 
of the voice of the great words which the horn spake : 1 
beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body des- 
troyed, and given to the burning flame — 23. The fourth 
beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall 
be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole 
earth, and shall tread it down, and brake it in pieces. 
24. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings 
that shall arise : and another shall rise behind them, and he 
shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three 
kings. 25. And he shall speak great words by the side 
of the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most 
High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall 
be given into his hand until a time, and times, and the 
dividing of a time. 26. But the judgment shall sit, and 
they shall take away his dominion, to consume, and to des- 
troy it unto the end. 27. And the kingdom, and dominion, 
and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, 
shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High ; 
whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all domi- 
nions shall serve and obey him. 

Rev. xiii. 1. And I stood upon the sand of the sea, 
and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads 
and ten horns, and upon his heads the name of blasphe- 
my — 3. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded 
to death ; and his deadly wound was healed ; and all 
the world wondered after the beast — 5. And there was 
given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blas- 
phemies ; and power was given unto him to practise for- 
ty and two months. 6. And he opened his mouth in 
blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his 
tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7. And it was 
given unto him to make war with the saints, and to over- 
come them : and power was given him over all kindreds, 
and tongues, and nations — 10. He, that leadeth into cap- 



260 

tivity, shall go into captivity : he, that killeth with the 
sword, must be killed with the sword. 

11. And I beheld another beast coming up out of the 
earth ; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake 
as a dragon. 12. And he exerciseth all the power of the 
first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them 
which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose 
deadly wound was healed. 13. And he doeth great won- 
ders, that he may make fire come down from heaven on 
the earth in the sight of men. 14. And he deceiveth them 
that dwell on the earth by those miracles which he had 
power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that 
dwell on the earth, that they should make an image for 
the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 
15. And he had power to give life unto the beast's 
image, that the beast's image should both speak, and 
cause that as many as would not worship the beast's 
image should be killed. 16. And he caused all, both 
small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive 
a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads : 17. And 
that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, 
or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 
18. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding 
count the number of the beast. For it is the number of 
a man. And his number is 666. 

xvii. 1. And there came one of the seven angels which 
had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, 
Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the 
great whore, that sitteth upon many waters : 2. With 
whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, 
and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk 
with the wine of her fornications. 3. So he carried me 
away in the spirit into the wilderness : and I saw a woman 
sit upon a scarlet- coloured beast full of names of blasphe- 
my, having seven heads and ten horns. 4. And the 
woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and 
decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having 
a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations and filthi- 
ness of her fornication: 5. And upon her forehead was a 
name written, Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of 
harlots and abominations of the earth. 6. And I saw the 



261 

woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with 
the blood of the martyrs of Jesus : and, when I saw her, 
I wondered with great admiration. 7. And the angel 
said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel ? I will tell 
thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that car- 
rieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. 
8. The beast, that thou sawest, was, and is not ; and 
shall ascend out of the abyss, and go into perdition : and 
they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names 
w r ere not written in the book of life from the foundation 
of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is 
not, and yet is. 9. And here is the mind which hath 
wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on 
which the woman sitteth. 10. And they are seven kings: 
live are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; 
and, when he cometh, he must continue a short space. 
11. And the beast, that was, and is not, even he is that 
eighth king, and yet is of the seven ; and he goeth into 
perdition. 12. And the ten horns, which thou sawest, 
are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet ; 
but receive power as kings in one season with the beast. 
13. These have one mind, and shall give their power and 
strength unto the beast. 14. These shall make war with 
the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them '• for he 
is Lord of lords, and King of kings ; and they that are 
with him are called, and faithful and chosen. 15. And 
he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where 
the whore sitteth, arc peoples and multitudes, and nations 
and tongues. 16. And the ten horns, which thou sawest 
upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make 
her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall 
burn her with fire : 17. For God hath put in their hearts 
to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom 
unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. 
18. And the woman, which thou sawest, is that great 
city which reigneth over the kings of the earth. 

Dan. xi. 36. And (after the second persecution of the 
men of understanding, or the era of the Reformation) a 
king shall do according to his will ; and he shall exalt 
himself, and magnify himself above every god; and shall 
speak marvellous things against the God of gods ; and 



262 

shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished : for 
that, that is determined, shall be done. 37. Neither shall 
he regard the God of his fathers, nor him who is the de- 
sire of women, nor regard any god : for he shall magnify 
himself above them all. 38. Yet, when he is established 
in power, he shall honour tutelary gods together with a 
god ; even, together with a god whom his fathers knew 
not, he shall honour them with gold, and silver, and pre- 
cious stones, and pleasant things: 39. And he shall practice 
prosperously. Unto the upholders of his tutelary gods, 
together with the foreign god whom he shall acknow- 
ledge, he shall multiply glory : and he shall cause them 
to rule over many ; and he shall divide the land among 
them, selling it for a price. 

40. And at the time of the end a king of the south 
shall butt at him : and a king of the north shall come 
against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with 
horsemen, and with many ships. Yet he shall enter into 
the countries, and shall overflow, and pass over. 41. He 
shall enter also into the glorious land ; and many coun- 
tries shall be overthrown : but these shall escape out of 
his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the 
children of Amnion. 42. He shall stretch forth his hand 
also upon the countries : and the land of Egypt shall not 
escape ; 43. But he shall have power over the treasures 
of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of 
Egypt : and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at 
his steps. 44. But tidings out of the east and out of the 
north shall trouble him : therefore he shall go forth with 
great fury to destroy, and to devote many to utter des- 
truction under the pretext of religion. 45. x\nd he shall 
plant the curtains of his pavilion between the seas in 
the glorious holy mountain : yet he shall come to his 
end, and none shall help him. 

xii. 1. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the 
great prince which standeth for the children of thy peo- 
ple: and there shall be a time of trouble such as never 
was since there was a nation even to that same time: 
and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one 
that shall be found written in the book. 2. And many 
that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake ; some to 



263 

everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting 
contempt. 3. And they that be wise shall shine, as the 
brightness of the firmament ; and they that turn many 
unto righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever. 4. But 
thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, 
unto the time of the end ; many shall run to and fro, and 
knowledge shall be increased. 

5. Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold there stood 
other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, 
and the other on that side of the bank of the river. 6. And 
it was said to the man clothed in linen, which w r as above 
the waters of the river, Until how long shall be the end 
of the wonders ? 7. And I heard the man clothed in 
linen, which was above the waters of the river, when he 
held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and 
sware by Him that liveth for ever, that it shall be until a 
a time, and times, and a half; and, when he shall have 
finished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these 
wonders shall be finished *. 8. And I heard, but I under- 
stood notf. Then said I, O my Lord, what is the end of 
these things? 9. And he said, Go thy way, Daniel, for the 
words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 
10. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried ; 
but the wicked shall do wickedly : and none of the wicked 
shall understand; but the wise shall understand. 11. And 
from the time of the taking away of the daily sacrifice 
even by the setting up of the abomination that maketh 
desolate, there shall be computed & thousand two hundred 
and ninety days. 12. Blessed is he that waiteth, and 
cometh to a thousand three hundred and five and thirty 
days. 13. But go thou thy way until the end : for thou 
shalt rest, and stand in thy lot, at the end of the days. 

* And, when he shall ha*ce finished to scatter the power of the holy people, alt 
these wonders shall befinished."] Mr. Win tie translates this passage, And, after 
the accomplishment of the dispersion cf the holy people, all these thi7igs shall be 
fulfilled. For his reasons, which are founded on a slight alteration of the 
text, see his note in loc. The sense according to either translation will be 
the same, though Mr. Wintle's, if his alteration be allowable, is more clear. 
He understands the passage in the same manner that I do ; namely, that thr 
Jevcs will begin to be restored at the close of the 1260 years. See Mr. Lowtli 
in loc. 

f / heard, but I understood not."] " I did not understand what time was allot- 
ted for bringing to pass tbis event, namely the restoration f the Jewish >■■■ 
Mr. Lowth in loc. 



264 

Rev. xvi. 12. And the sixth angel poured out his vial 
upon the great river Euphrates ; and the water thereof 
was dried up, that a way might be prepared for the kings 
who are from the rising of the sun. 13. And I saw three 
unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the 
dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the 
mouth of the false prophet. 14. For they are the spirits 
of demons working signs, to go out to the kings of the 
earth even of the whole habitable world *, to gather them 
together to the war of that great day of God Almighty. 
15. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watch- 
eth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and 
they see his shame. And he gathered them together f 
into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon 
(or the cursing to utter destruction at Megiddo.) 

17. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the 
air : and there came a great voice out of the temple of 
heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. 18. And 
there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings: and 
there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men 
were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake and so 
great. 19. And the great city was divided into three 
parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and great Baby- 
Ion came in remembrance before God, to give unto 
her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. 
20. And every island fled away, and the mountains were 
not found. 21. And there fell upon men a great hail out 
of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent ; and 
men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail : 
for the plague thereof was exceeding great. 

xviii. 1. And after these things I saw another angel 
come down from heaven, having great power ; and the 
earth was lightened with his glory. 2. And he cried 

* The whole habitable xvorld."] That is, the Roman empire, which was wont 
to be styled oXt> or -sretvot, y oi>tX/Asvr). See Parkhurst's Greek Lex. ox oixxpsvi), 
and Mede's Daniel's Weeks, ver. 26. p. 705. 

f He gathered them together, .] Or, as the passage might perhaps be more 
pi-operly translated, they, that is the unclean spirits, gathered them together. 
According- to a well known rule of the Greek grammar,, "the verb singular 
<rvr.r/ayev agrees with the neuter plural AxctQctpro!, ■zrvev/xatrciy whose office it 
was to collect the kings (ver. 14.) This is observed By Daubuz." Arch- 
deacon Woodhouse's Apocalypse translated, p. 410. 



265 

mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great 
is fallen, is fallen; and is become the habitation of devils, 
and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every un- 
clean and hateful bird. 3. For all nations have drunk of 
the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of 
the earth have committed fornication with her, and the 
merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abun- 
dance of her delicacies. 4. And I heard another voice 
from heaven, saying, Come out of her my people, that 
ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of 
her plagues. 5. For her sins have reached unto heaven, 
and God hath remembered her iniquities. 6. Reward 
her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her dou- 
ble according to her works ; in the cup which she hath 
filled fill to her double. 7. How much she hath glorified 
herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sor- 
row give her. For she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, 
and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 8. There- 
fore shall her plagues come in one day, death and mourn- 
ing and famine : and she shall be utterly burned with fire: 
for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. 9. And 
the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication 
and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her and lament 
for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning; 
10. Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, 
Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city ! for 
in one hour is thy judgment come. 11. And the mer- 
chants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her ; for 
no man buyeth her merchandise any more. 12. The 
merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and 
pearls, and fine linen, and purple,, and silk, and scarlet, 
and all thyme wood, and all manner of vessels of ivory, 
and all manner of vessels of most precious wood, and of 
brass, and iron, and marble. 13. And cinnamon, and 
odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and 
oil, and fine flour, and wheat; and beasts, and sheep, and 
horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men — 
21. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great 
millstone, and cast it into the sea, sayinp;, Thus with 
violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, 
and shall be found no more at all — 23. For thy mer- 
34 



266 

chants were the great men of the earth: for by thy sorce- 
ries were all nations deceived. 24. And in her was found 
the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that were 
slain upon the earth. 

xiv. 17. And another angel came out of the temple 
Which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18. And 
another angel came out from the altar, which had power 
over fire ; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the 
sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and 
gatherMhe clusters of the vine of the earth ; for her grapes 
are fully ripe. 19. And the angel thrust in his sickle into 
the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it 
into the great wine-press of the wrath of God. 20. And 
the wine-press was trodden without the city ; and blood 
came out of the wine-press even unto the horse-bridles, 
by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. 

xix. 11. And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a 
white horse ; and he that sat upon him was called Faith- 
ful and true ; and in righteousness he doth judge, and 
make war. 12. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on 
his head were many crow r ns : and he had a name written 
that no man knew but he himself: 13. And he was 
clothed with a vesture dipped in blood : and his name is 
called The Word of God. 14. And the armies which 
were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed 
in fine linen white and clean* 15. And out of his mouth 
goeth a sharp sword* that with it he should smite the 
nations : and he shall rule them with a rod of iron ; and 
he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of 
Almighty God* 16. And he hath on his vesture and on 
his thigh a name written* King of kings and Lord of 
lords. 17. And I saw an angel standing in the sun ; and 
he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that 
By in the midst of heaven, Come, and gather yourselves 
together unto the supper of the great God ; 18. That ye 
may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and 
the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of 
them that sit on them, and the flesh of all, free and bond, 
small and great. 19. And I saw the beast, and the kings 
of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make 
war against him that sat on the horse, and against his 



267 

'army. 20. And the beast was taken, and with him the 
false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with 
which he deceived them that had received the mark of 
the beast, and them that worshipped his image : these both 
were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 
21. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him 
that sat upon the horse, which proceeded out of his 
mouth : and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. 

xx. 1. And I saw an angel come down from heaven, 
having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand. 
2. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, 
which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand 
years, 3. And cast him into the abyss, and shut him up, 
and set a seal upon him, that he should, deceive the 
nations no more till the thousand years should be ful- 
filled : and after that he must be loosed a little season. 

4. And I saw thrones, aifd they sat upon them, and 
judgment was given unto them. And I saw the souls 
of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and 
for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the 
beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark 
upon their foreheads or in their hands : and they lived, 
and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5. But the 
rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years 
were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6. Blessed 
and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection : on 
such the second death hath no power, but they shall be 
priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him 
a thousand years. 

7. And, when the thousand years are expired, Satan 
shall be loosed out of his prison ; 8. And shall go to 
deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of 
the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to 
battle : the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 
9. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and 
compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved 
city : and fire came down from God out of heaven, and 
devoured them. 10. And the devil that deceived them 
was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the 
beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented 
day and night for ever and ever. 



268 

11. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat 
on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away ; 
and there was found no place for them. 12. And I saw 
the dead* both small and great, stand before God ; and 
the books were opened — 

xxi. 1. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth : for 
the first heaven and the first earth were passed away ; and 
there was no more sea. 2. And I John saw the holy city 
new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, 
prepared as a ■bride adorned for her husband. 

Dan. vii. 12. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they 
had their dominion taken away : yet their lives were pro- 
longed for a season and a time. 13. I saw in the night- 
visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with 
the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days; 
and they brought him near before him. 14. And there 
was given him dominion and glory and a kingdom, that 
all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his 
dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass 
away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. 

COMMENTARY. 

Nearly every prophecy, that treats of the restoration of 
the Jexvs, treats likewise of the contemporary overthroxo 
of some great and impious combination of God's enemies: 
yet, were it not for the predictions of Daniel and St. John, 
we never could have learnt, previous to the event, either 
who those enemies of God are, or at what era the restora- 
tion of the Jews would take place. Hence they are pecu- 
liarly valuable and curious ; and hence, from their near 
relation to each other, I have thought it best to arrange 
them together, considering them as forming jointly only 
one grand prophecy in nature and style perfectly distinct 
from all other prophecies. 

It would be superfluous for me here to enter into a full 
examination of them, inasmuch as I have already discus- 
sed them at large in another work *• I shall therefore 
only briefly observe, that we learn from them, that the 

* See a Dissertation on the Prophecies relative to the 1260 years. 



J09 

confederacy of God' s enemies, about to be destroyed at 
the time of the return of Judah, will consist of the ten- 
horned beast under his last head ; an infidel power, which 
should spring up after the era of the reformation, and 
which at the time of the end should be so powerful as to 
take the lead in the confederacy, thence warranting the 
conjecture, a conjecture which recent events have proved 
to be just, that sooner or later it would become identified 
with the last head of the beast ; an ecclesiastical power, 
which is represented under the various symbols of a little 
horn, a txvo-horned lamb-like beast, and a harlot, and which 
is sometimes styled a false prophet, and is sometimes con- 
sidered as the spiritual part of the great mystical city Ba- 
bylon ; and lastly certain kings of the earth, who are ap- 
parently in a state of vassalage to these main promoters 
of the confederacy. All these are said to come to their 
end, and to be destroyed, after the expiration of a certain 
period, which contains 1260 years. And we further 
learn, by comparing prophecy with prophecy, that they 
will be destroyed in Palestine : that is to say, in some 
region, which extends 1600 furlongs, as Palestine does; 
in some region situate between two seas, as Palestine is ; 
in the neighbourhood of the glorious holy mountain, or 
mount Zion ; and in the more immediate neighbourhood 
of Megiddo, which is a town of Palestine. Now, at the 
close likewise of this self- same period of 1260 years, we 
are taught by Daniel, that the Jews are to be restored. 
Whence it is evident, since the restoration of the Jews is 
declared to be contemporary with the overthrow of the 
confederacy thus particularly described by Daniel and 
St. John, that the confederacy, which they describe, is 
the same as that which all the other prophets represent 
as being similarly overthrown in the very same country 
and at the very same era. Nor is this all : in order, as 
it were, to preclude the possibility of error, Daniel and 
St. John at once describe the confederacy of which they 
treat, as being overthrown by some divine interposition ; 
and depict its overthrow by the same imagery, as that 
used by the other prophets who treat of the subject. A 
stone, cut out without hands, smites the gigantic image 
upon his feet; the ten-homed beast and his little horn are 



270 

aupernaturally destroyed ; the infidel king comes to his 
end, apparently by no mere human instrumentality ; and 
the ten-homed beast under his last head, together with his 
associates the false prophet and the kings of the earth, is 
routed in a conflict with the victorious Word of God. 
So again : does Isaiah represent a mighty conqueror as 
treading the wine-press, and as sprinkled with the blood 
of his enemies? so likewise does St. John*. Does Joel, 
in a similar manner, exhibit that last dreadful slaughter 
under the image of a vintage? so likewise does St. Johnf. 
Does Ezekiel symbolize one of the members of the con- 
federacy by an opident and corrupt trading city ? so like- 
wise does St. John J. 

Who are the enemies, thus hieroglyphically exhibited 
to us by Daniel and St. John, it is perhaps not very dif- 
ficult at the present day to determine. The ten toes of 
the image, and the fourth beast after he has put forth his 
ten horns, can only mean the Roman empire in its last or 
divided state ; and we may add from St. John? the Roman 
empire under its last or septimo-octave head, by which I 
think we must necessarily understand the Patricio- Carlo- 
vingian emperorship. The little horn, the false prophet, the 
two-homed beast, the harlot, and the spiritual city Baby- 
lon, are alike the ecclesiastical empire of the , Pope, or the 
adulterous church of Rome. The infidel tyrant, who was 
to spring up after the Reformation, I scruple not asserting 
to be France, whether democratical or imperial. And 
the kings of the earth and the whole xvorld are, according 
to the phraseology both of the Apocalypse and of the 
Roman writers themselves, the kings of the bestial em- 
pire, which was wont to be styled Ecumene, or the world. 
But, since these are the enemies who (we are taught by 
Daniel and St. John) will compose the confederacy about 
to be destroyed at the era of the restoration ofJudah, they 
must likewise be the enemies who compose the confede- 
racy which (all the other prophets teach us) will be 
destroyed at the same era. 

It is interesting to turn from prophecy to facts. We 
may now behold with our own^eyes the rudiments of that 

* Isaiah Ixm. Rev. xix. 11— 2t. f Joel iii. 13. Rev. xiv. 17—20. 

\ Ezek. xxvii. xxviii. Rev. xviii. 



271 

Confederacy, which (as we learn from St. John) will begin 
to be gathered to the place of its destruction at some in- 
definite period after the Ottoman empire shall have been 
subverted ; the subversion of which may seem indeed to 
further its views, but will in reality be overruled by God's 
providence so as only to prepare a way for the kings from 
the east. The disastrous catastrophe of Austerlitz has 
made the ruler of France, the master of papal Europe ; 
and, effectively at least, the representative of Charlemagne, 
and therefore the last head of the Roman beast. His an- 
cient title of Emperor of the Romans seems to be tacitly 
resigned by the sovereign of Austria * : and we shall 
probably soon learn, whether the last head will nominally, 
as well as effectively, be identified with the infidel king. 
Rumours of the speedy downfal of Turkey are afloat : 
and we see a conspiracy of vassal kings rapidly forming 
tinder the influence of their acknowledged and undoubted 
head, the French emperor. The Roman beast, who in 
every period of his existence has been dreadful and ter- 
rible and strong exceedingly, who with his iron teeth has 
devoured the whole earth and stamped the residue with 
his feet f, seems now, as the era of his dissolution ap- 
proaches, to arise and go forth with ten-fold fury. Nor 
can we wonder at this circumstance, since his last head 
may at present be considered as identified with the adoles- 
cent Antichrist. Such is the prospect of Europe at the 
moment that I am now writing J : and how accurately, 
how wonderfully, does it accord with prophecy ! From 
the past, and from the present, we may anticipate the 
future. Whenever the Ottoman empire falls, we shall then 

* At least no mention is made of this title in his treaty with France, and 
even that of Germany seems to be nearly dropped, the French studiously 
terming- him only Emperor of Austria, and himself apparently acquiescing- in 
it. It is observable, that by the 5th article of this treaty the Frtnch emperor 
is acknowledged to be king of Italy ; and who shall deny, that he is also, like 
Charlemagne, sovereign of Rome ? March 1806. 

Since this was written, the Germanic constitution has been formally dis- 
solved, and its chief has solemnly renounced his title of Roman emperor. 
Sept. 1806. 

f Dan. vii. 7, 23. 

* March 6, 1806. " I fear I see too clearly," said Bp. Horsley in the year 
1799, "the rise, instead of the fall, of the Antichrist of the West. ' Or rather, 
I Fear, I see him rapidly advancing- to full stature and ripe age." (Letter on 
Isaiah xviii.) How marvellous hath been his growth in these last seven years ! 
t)o we even yet behold his full adolescence J 



272 

definitively know our place in the Apocalypse ; and the 
strong light of almost absolute certainty will be thrown 
upon the third woe ; and the six first vials-. 

Although these prophecies have already been discussed 
at large, so far as the principal actors in them are con- 
cerned, yet they contain some matters more immediately 
connected with the restoration of the Jews which have not 
received quite so full an examination. These shall now 
be noticed in their order. 

The succession of events, detailed in the joint predic- 
tion of Daniel and St. John, is as follows. At the pouring 
out of the sixth vial, the Ottoman empire, symbolized as 
under the sixth trumpet by the waters of its principal 
river the Euphrates, is overthrown ; and prepares by its 
subversion a way for the kings from the east. These kings 
I cannot but consider as being the Jews, or perhaps to 
speak more accurately the ten tribes dispersed through 
the east and lost in the ancient Assyrian empire. Such 
an interpretation best accords with other parallel prophe- 
cies, which concur in representing a very considerable 
body of the Israelites as being brought out of the east and 
out of the north. The fall of the Ottoman empire howe- 
ver only prepares a way for them : no intimation is given, 
that they then set out on their expedition ; which exactly 
accords with what we are taught respecting the period, 
when we may expect the return of Judah and Israel. 
The restoration even of Judah, which will first take place, 
will not commence till the 1260 years shall have expired: 
and the Ottoman empire falls previous to the gathering 
together of the confederacy to the great battle of the 
Lord, which will be contemporary with the restoration 
of Judah. 

After the downfal of Turkey, the imperceptible agency 
of three unclean spirits will begin to assemble the Latin 
kings to the last war of Armageddon. We may conclude 
from the language of the prophet, that the confederacy 
itself will in some measure be already formed at this 
era ; for the impure spirits are represented, as not so 
much forming the confederacy, as directing its efforts 
after its formation to a scheme of conquest which will 
terminate onlv in its own destruction. I have already 



2 to 

observed, that, when we consider the point to which 
we now seem to be arrived in the Apocalypse, we can 
scarcely doubt that we behold the rudiments of this con- 
federacy rapidly acquiring form and stability ; and that, 
whenever the Turkish empire is overthrown, there will 
then be no doubt at all. 

At the pouring out of the last vial the 1260 years ap- 
parently expire, and the restoration ofJudah commences. 
To this period therefore we must ascribe the expedition 
of the wilful king * ; and at this same period the stone 
begins to smite the image upon his feet, and the Ancient 
of days to sit in judgment upon the Roman beast and his 

* There is some reason for believing", that, during the effusion of the seventh 
vial and the contemporaneous expedition of Antichrist into Palestine, the sins 
of the papal empire, then left in a manner defenceless, will be severely pun- 
ished by the desolating- invasion of a great northern nation. In the language 
of symbols, a storm of hail denotes a hostile invasion from the north, the re- 
gion where the natural hail is generated. Accordingly it is used by St. John, 
in his description of the effects produced by the first trumpet, to typify the ir- 
ruption of the northern tribes into the Roman empire. Now it is worthy of note, 
that another hail-storm is to be one of the plagues produced by the seventh 
vial ; and it is equally worthy of note, that some great northern king is said by- 
Daniel to be engaged in hostilities with Antichrist at this very period. The 
necessary conclusion seems to be, if I be right in supposing the northern king 
to be Russia, that the hail-storm of the seventh vial means some dreadful inva- 
sion of the papal Roman empire by Russia and her northern allies during the 
time that Antichrist is engaged in prosecuting his conquests in Palestine and 
Egypt. This conjecture is founded upon Mr. Butt's paraphrase of Rev. xvi. 

17, 18, 19, 20, 21 ; which the reader may compare with the text. 

" 17. And the last minister poured out his vial upon the spiritual power of 
mystical Babylon, and there came a great voice from the established church 
fromjthe throne, saying, The mystery of God is finished, Antichrist is crucified. 

18. And there were thanksgivings, and languages, and the thunder of prea- 
chers, and flashes of light ; and there was a great revolution, such as never 
was from the time that men were upon the earth (Comp. Dan. xii. 1.). 19. And 
the great nation and empire was divided into three portions, and the com- 
munities of the Christian Gentiles were revolutionized, and catholic Babylon 
came in remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of crucifixion and 
extreme wrath. 20. And every little state was revolutionized, and the king- 
doms were levelled, the foundations of the great city annihilated. 21. Ami 
great northern armies are caused to descend by the church and fall upon ci- 
tizens ; and the citizens blasphemed God for the plague of the northern ar- 
mies, for it was inexpressibly heavy and dreadful." Butt's third part of notes 
on the Revelation, p. 24. 

I am no way singular in supposing, that the effusion of the seventh vial syn- 
chronizes with the expedition of Antichrist into Palestine mid the contempo- 
rary restoration of the Jevcs. Commenting on Dan. xii. 1, Mr. Lowth ob- 
serves, "that the Scriptures speak of the extraordinary appearances of God's 
kingdom, as ushered in by great tribulations (Sec Isaiah xxvi. 20, 21. Jer. 
xxx. 7. Matt. xxiv. 21.). This some learned men suppose to relate to the 
times of the last vial (Rev. xvi. 18.), when there was a gnat earthquake, saith 
the text, such as was not since men ivere upon the eat'lt." 

35 



274 

tyrannical little horn. It is observable that the )stone 
smites the image upon his feet and his ten toes, previous 
to his other members being smitten, ^Fhis exactly accords 
with what Daniel says relative to the fate of the four beasts. 
The Roman empire is to be first destroyed, and that in 
its divided form : the lives of the other three beasts are 
to be preserved for a season and a time. And both these 
prophecies equally accord with the Apocalypse. After 
the destruction of the Roman beast under his last head and 
the downfal of his false prophet or harlot- church , and after 
the thousand years have expired, then at length perish Gog 
and Magog; whose seats, together with those of their 
associates, are, as we find from Ezekiel, within the limits 
of the three first empires. I am much inclined to think, 
that the season and the time, during which the lives of 
the three beasts were to be preserved, is only another 
mode of expressing the thousand years mentioned by St. 
John. As a day in the prophetic language is a year, so 
a great time or year of the Lord was thought by the Jews 
to comprehend a thousand years; and this great time they 
were wont to style the great day of judgment, shewing 
thereby that days, and years, and millenaries, are equal in 
the sight of God*. At any rate the time, during which 
the lives of the three beasts w T ere to be preserved, un- 
doubtedly coincides with the thousand years ; whence we 
are naturally led to conclude, that Daniel did not mean 
an indefinite time, but a time or year of some description 
or another. It cannot however be a time of 360 years, 
because it coincides with the Millennium ; therefore it 
must be a great time or year of 1000 years. 

The whole war, which terminates with the battle of 
Armageddon, is both minutely and geographically detail- 
ed by Daniel. The confederacy under its leader the infidel 
king will, at the time of the end or the close of the 1260 
years, be opposed by a king of the north and a king of 
the south; yet, in spite of their efforts, it will succeed 
in overflowing many countries, and in conquering Pales- 
tine, Egypt, Libya, and the land of Cush. In the midst of 
these victories its chief will be disturbed by some unto- 

* The reader will find some very curious remarks on this subject by Mr 
Mede in his Works, B ? v. C. 3. 



275 

ward tidings out of the north and out of the east: tidings 
probably of the arrival in Palestine of the navy of the 
great maritime power with the converted of Judah, which, 
supposing the infidel king to be then in Egypt and Libya, 
would reach him from the north and north-east* Enraged 
at such ungrateful news, he will go forth in his fury to 
devote to utter destruction his opponents : and he will 
succeed in taking Jerusalem. This however will be his 
last victory. Advancing to Megiddo a town near the 
shores of the Mediterranean, where (as we learn from 
St. John) the conflict will be finally decided ; advancing 
therefore (will the conjecture be deemed too unreason- 
able?) against the forces of the maritime power, and such 
of the Jews as shall be under its protection (the apostates 
themselves perhaps, late the allies of Antichrist, being now 
of the number, and converted) : advancing, I say, against 
this town, he shall there unexpectedly come to his end, 
none being able to help him. The triumphant Word of 
God shall break his confederacy, that Babel which he 
had so long been carefully erecting ; and, at the head of 
the armies of heaven, shall supernaturally overwhelm him 
with sudden destruction. 

During this period of unexampled trouble, which so 
awfully terminates with the slaughter of Megiddo, we 
are expressly taught by Daniel, in perfect harmony with 
the other inspired prophets, that the restoration of Judah 
shall take place : consequently the whole prophecy rela- 
tive to the expedition of Antichrist must be so interpreted 
as to harmonize with the many predictions which treat 
of the conversion and return of the ancient people of God. 

Yet, at the time when the power of Antichrist is bro~ 
ken, all his followers will not be involved in indiscriminate 
destruction. The least guilty will be spared, converted, 
and scattered into all nations. Wherever they go, they will 
carry the wonderful tidings, that God hath overthrown his 
enemies, and accomplished the restoration of his people 
Judah. One thing only remains to complete the grand 
scheme of general redemption, and fulfil the sure word 
of prophecy. Though Judah hath returned, the lost sheep 
of the house of Israel remain still to be gathered. But they 
shall not long continue in the land of their captivity. 



276 

Struck with the marvellous tidings of those that had escap- 
ed from the slaughter of Megiddo, all nations shall bring 
the brethren of Judah, an offering unto the Lord, to his 
holy mountain to Jerusalem; the stick of Joseph shall be 
united with the stick of Judah; one king, even the mysti- 
cal David, shall be king unto them all ; and they shall be 
no more two nations, neither shall they be divided any 
more into two kingdoms*. 

This circumstance of a two-fold successive restoration 
will perhaps shew us, as I have already observed, why 
Daniel divides the 75 years, which will intervene between 
the expiration of the 1260 years and the commencement of 
the 1000 years or the season of millennian blessedness, 
into 30 years and 45 years. The 30 years may be taken 
up with the restoration of Judah, and the Antichristian 
war of the infidel king and his associates at the time of the 
end ; the 45 years may be occupied with the subsequent 
restoration of Israel, in consequence of the tidings carried 
far and wide by the converted fugitives from Armaged- 
don. When the 75 years have elapsed, and when the 
whole house of Jacob has been brought back, then will 
commence the thousand years of the reign of the saintsf . 
None except vital Christians, none except protestants in 
reality no less than in name, will then hold the reins of 
government throughout the whole world ; the tyranny of 
Popery and Infidelity will be every where subverted ; 
earth will become a school for heaven in a far higher sense 
than it has ever yet been ; and man, daily conversing 
with his Maker, shall eat as it were angels' food, and 
walk as it were upon the threshold of the world of spirits. 

At the close of the Millennium, after the destruction 
of Gog and Magog, the second or general resurrection 
will take place. The first heaven and the first earth shall 

* Isaiah lxvi. 19— 24. Ezek.xxxvii. 19— 25. 

f "We may venture to say in general, that there may be a considerable 
space of time between the fall of Antichrist, and the last judgments which 
shall be inflicted upon him. Some learned men, who have compared the 
prophecies of Dankd and the Revelation together, suppose the interval of 
time between the 1260 days and the 1335 days to be included within the times 
of the seventh trumpet, during which the seven last plagues will be fulfilled." 
(Mr. Lowth's Comment, on Dan. xii. 12.) This interval of time appears to 
me to belong- exclusively to the seventh vial, as others have perhaps more 
justly imagined. See Mr. Lowth on Dan. xii. 1. 



277 

pass away, and a new heaven and a new earth shall 
occupy their place. The Church of God shall be finally 
translated *to everlasting rest and' happiness ; tears shall 
be wiped from every eye ; and death shall be swallowed 
up in victory. 



PROPHECY XXVII. 

The restoration of Israel — Their instrumentality in converting the 
Gentiles — The state of the Jews in the days of their dispersion. 

Hosea i. 2. The beginning of the word of the Lord by 
Hosea was in this manner. The Lord said unto Hosea; 
Go, take to thee a wife of prostitution, and children of 
promiscuous commerce : for the land is perpetually play- 
ing the wanton, forsaking the Lord. 3. So he w^ent, and 
took Gomer, daughter of Diblaim ; and she conceived, 
and bare him a son. 4. And the Lord said unto him, 
call his name Jezrael (a seed of God) ; for yet a little 
while, and I will visit the blood of Jezrael upon the house 
of Jehu, and I will abolish the kingdom of the house of 
Israel. 5. And it shall be in that very day *, when I 
break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezrael. 6. And 
she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God 
said, Call her name Lo-Ruhamah f not beloved J : fori 
will no more cherish with tenderness the house of Israel, 
insomuch as to be perpetually forgiving them. 7. But 
the house of Judah with tenderness I will cherish ; and I 
will save them by the Lord their God t ; and will not 

v In that very day.'] " This entire abolition of the kingdom of the ten i 
shall take effect at the time when I break the bow of Israel in the valley oi 
Jezrael." Bp. Horsley's Hosea in loc. 

f I will save them, by Jehovah their God.'] "These expressions are too 
magnificent to be understood of any thing- but the final rescue of the Jews from 
the power of Antichrist in the latter ages, bv the incarnate God destroying the ene 
my with the brightness of his coming ; of which the destruction of Sennacherib''* 
army, in the days of Hezekiah, might be a type, but it was nothing more . Ii 
may seem perhaps, that the prophecy points at some deliverance peculiar to 
the house of Judah, in which the ten tribes will have no share ; such as the over- 
throw of Sennacherib actually was : whereas the destruction of Antichrist will 
be an universal blessing. But, in the different treatment of the house of Ju- 
ilah and the house of Israel, we see the prophecy hitherto remarkablj verified 
After the excision of the kingdom of the ten tribes, Judah, though occasional!) 



278 

save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by hor- 
ses, nor by horsemen. 8. And she weaned Lo-Ruha~ 
mah ; and she conceived, and bare a son. 9. And God 
said, Call his name Lo-Ammi (not a people of mine) , for 
ye are no people of mine, and I will not be yours. 
10. Nevertheless the number of the children of Israel * 
shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measur- 
ed, and cannot be counted; and it shall be, that, in the 
placet where it was said unto them, No people of mine 
are ye, there it shall be said unto them, Children of the 
living God. 11. And the children of Judah shall be col- 
lected J, and the children of Israel shall be united, and 
they shall appoint themselves one head, and come up from 
the earth. For great shall be the day of Jezrael \. 

visited with severe judgments, continued however to be cherished with 
God's love, till they rejected our Lord. Then Judah became Lo-Ammi ; but 
still continues to be visibly an object of God's love, preserved as a distinct 
race for gracious purposes of mercy. Perhaps in the last ages the converts of 
the house of Judah will be the principal objects of Antichrist's malice. Their 
deliverance may be first wrought, and through them the blessing may be ex- 
tended to their brethren of the ten tribes, and ultimately to the whole world. 
This order of things the subsequent prophecy seems to point out." (Bp. Hors- 
ley in loc.) Other prophecies teach us, that the deliverance of the converted 
of Judah mill be first wrought. In fact, the ten tribes will have no share in the 
deliverance from Antichrist. His wrath will be directed exclusively against 
, Judah : and the ten tribes will not be restored until after his final overthrow 
between the seas in the land of Palestine. 

* The number of the children of Israel.'] '* I think this is to be understood 
of the mystical Israel ,- their numbers, consisting of myriads of converts, both 
of the natural Israel, and their adopted brethren of the Gentiles, shall be im- 
measurably great." (Bp. Horsley in loc). It may however relate, with per- 
haps equal propriety, to the literal Israel. See Ezek. xxxvii. 2, 10. and 
Isaiah xlix. 19, 20,21. 

•j- In the place.] "That is at Jerusalem, or at least in Judea, where this 
prophecy was delivered, and where the execution of the sentence took place. 
There, in that very place, they, to whom it was said, Ye are no people of mine, 
shall be called children of the living God. This must relate to the natural Israel 
of the house of Judah, for to them it was said, Ye are no people of mine. And, 
since they are to be acknowledged again as the children of the living God in 
the same place where this sentence was pronounced and executed, the pro- 
phecy clearly promises their restoration to their own land." Bp. Horsley 
in loc. 

t The children of Judah shall be collected.] " When converts of the house of 
Judah shall have obtained a re-settlement in the Holy Land, -then a general 
conversion shall take place of the race of Judah, and the race of the ten tribes. 
They shall unite in one confession, and in one polity, under one king, Christ 
the Saviour." Bp. Horsley in loc. 

§ Great shall be the day of Jezrael."] " Great and happy shall be the dayy 
when the holy seed of both branches of the natural Israel shall be publicly 
acknowledged of their God ; united under one head, their king Messiah ; and 
restored to the possession of the promised land, and to a situation of high 
pre-eminence among the kingdoms of the earth." (Bp. Horsley in locO 



279 

ii. 21. And it shall be in that day, I will perform my 
part, saith the Lord. I will perform my part upon the 
heavens ; and they shall perform their part upon the 
earth ; 22. And the earth shall perform her part upon 
the corn, and the wine, and the oil ; and they shall per- 
form their part upon the Jezrael (the seed of God). 
23. And I will sow her* as a seed, for my own-self, in 
the earth ; and with tenderness I will cherish her, that 
had been Lo-Ruhamah (the not beloved); and I will say 
to Lo-Ammi (no people of mine), Ammi (my own peo- 
ple) art thou ; and he shall say, My God. 

iii. 1. And the Lord said unto me again, Go, love the 
woman addicted to wickedness and an adultress ; after 
the manner of the Lord's love for the children of Israel, 
although they look to other gods, and are addicted to 
goblets of wine. 2. So I owned her as my own by 
lifteen pieces of silver, and a homer and a half of bark}'. 
3. And I said unto her, Many days shalt thou tarry for 
me \ ; thou shalt not play the wanton, and thou shalt not 
have to do with a husband, neither will I with thee. 

4. For many days shall the children of Israel tarry, 
without king, and without ruler J, and without sacri- 
fice §, and without statue, and without ephod and tera- 
phim || . 5. Afterward shall the children of Israel return, 

Great likewise will this day be, as a day of judgment upon the Antichristnw 
fact i on. 

* I wilt sow her.'] " The myriads of the natural Israel, converted by the 
preaching" of the Apostles, were the first seed of the Universal Church. And 
there is reason to believe, that the restoration of the converted jfavs will be 
the occasion and means of a prodigious influx of new converts from the Gen- 
tiles in the latter ages. (Rom. xi. 12, 15.) Thus the jfczrael of the natural 
Israel from the first have been, and to the last will prove, a seed sown of 
God for himself in the earth." Bp. Horsley in loc. 

f Many days shalt thou tarry fur me.~] " The condition of the woman, re- 
strained from licentious courses, owned as a wife, but without restitution of 
conjugal rites, admirably represents the present state of the Jews, manifest - 
ly owned as a peculiar people, .withheld form idolatry, but as jet without 
access to God through the Saviour." Bp. Horsley in loc. 

i Without king and without ruler.~\ " Without a monarch, and without any 
government of their own " Bp. Horsley in loc. 

§ Without sacrifice.] "Deprived of the means of offering" the tvpical sacri- 
fices of the law, and having as yet no share in the true sacrifice of Christ." 
Bp. Uorsiey in loc. 

(I Without statue, ephod, and teraphivi] " After much consideration of the 
passage, and of much that has been written upon it bv expositors, I rest in 
the opinion strenuously maintained by the learned Pocock ; in which he 
agrees with many that went before ^iim, and has the concurrence of manv 



280 

and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and 
seek the Lord and his goodness, in the end of days. 

COMMENTARY. 

God, having foretold by the mouth of Hosea the sub- 
version of the two kingdoms qfJudah and Israel, declares, 
with reference to the first restoration from Babylon, that 
he will no more cherish with tenderness the house of 
Israel, but that the house of Judah he will cherish with 
tenderness. Afterwards, with reference to the second 
restoration, he promises that the number of the children 
of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea ; that the children 
of Judah shall be collected, and that the children of Israel 
shall be united with them ; and that they shall appoint 
themselves one head, even Christ the Lord. For, although 
they shall continue many days without any independent 
polity, without availing themselves of the great mediato- 
rial sacrifice, and yet without relapsing into the idola- 
try of their fathers ; they shall nevertheless, at the end of 
the days, — after the termination of the 1260 years, and 
throughout the whole period of the Millennium, — return 
from their captivity, and seek the Lord their God and 
the mystical David their king, 

that came after, Luther, Calvin, Vatablus, Drusius, Livelye, Houbigant, and 
Abp. Newcome, with many others of inferior note : I rest, I say, after much 
consideration in the opinion, that statue, ephod, and teraphim, are mentioned, 
as principal implements of idolatrous rites. And the sum of the 4th verse is 
this : that for many ages the jfews would not be their own masters ; would be 
deprived of the exercise of their own religion, in its most essential parts ; not 
embracing the Christian, they would have no share in the true, service ; and 
yet would be restrained from idolatry, to which their forefathers had been 
so prone. It is to be observed, that this 4th verse is the exposition of the 
type of the prophet's dealing with his wife. If the restriction of the Jews 
from idolatry is not mentioned, we have nothing in the exposition answering 
to that article of the typical contract with the woman, Thou shalt not play the 
wanton. And certainly the restriction from idolatry is not mentioned in this 
4th verse at all, if it be not represented by tarrying without statue, without 
ephod, and teraphim." Bp. Horsley in loc. 

The exposition of Vitringa is to the same purpose. " Quaeso jam, respice 
sortem hujus gentis in przesenti exilio. Est per divortium separata a Deo, 
nectamen facta alteri viro. Non transiit ad alias nuptias. Abstinet idolola- 
tria, et vult etiamnum censeri populus Dei, expectans gratiam sibi foedere 
condictam, ut clarissime prsecinerat Hoseas." Vitring. in Isai. 1. 2. 



281 



PROPHECY XXVIII. 

The captivity of Judah and Israel — The application of some of their 
members to the mystic Assyrian to effect their restoration — Their 
distress— Their final political revival. 

Hosea v. 3. Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, the trum- 
pet in Ramah ; sound an alarm at Bethaven. Look be- 
hind thee, O Benjamin. 9. Ephraim shall be given up 
to desolation, in the day of rebuke, among the tribes of 
Israel : I have declared what shall surely be. 10. The 
rulers of Judah have been as those that remove the 
bounds *. Upon them like a flood I will pour out my 
fury. 11. Ephraim is hard pressed, ruined in judg- 
ment f ; because he is self-willed, walking after a com- 
mandment {. 12. Therefore am I as a moth in the gar- 
ment to Ephraim, and as a worm in the flesh to the house 
of Judah. 13. When Ephraim perceives his holes, and 
Judah his corrupted sore, then Ephraim will betake him 
to the Assyrian, and send to the king who takes up all 
quarrels }. But he shall not be able to repair the damage 
for you, nor shall he make a cure of your corrupted sore. 
14. For, I will be as a lion unto Ephraim, and as a young 
lion to the house of Judah. I, I will seize the prey, and 
begone ; I will carry off, and none shall rescue. 15. I 

* Those that remove the bounds."] " That is, they have confounded the dis- 
tinctions of right and wrong". They have turned upside down all political order, 
and all manner of religion. English Geneva." Bp. Horsier in loc. 

f Ephraim is — ruined in judgment.'] " That is, he has no defence to set up 
ag-uinst the accusation brought against him ; he has nothing to say for him- 
self." Up. Morslcy in loc. 

* Self-willed, walking after a commandment."] " That is, although he has a 
commandment to walk after, namely ihe divine law, yet he will take his own 
way; and this he does, notwithstanding he pretends to acknowledge the 
authority of the commandment. The ten tribes pretended to be worshippers 
of Jehovah ; but they worshipped him in the calves at Dan and Bethel ; and 
they appointed a priesthood of their own, in prejudice of the prerogative of 
the sons of Levi." Bp. Horsley in loc. 

§ The king who takes up all c/uarrels.~\ "This describes some powerful 
monarch, who took upon him to interfere in all quarrels between inferior 
powers ; to arbitrate between them, and compel them to make up their dif- 
ferences, upon such terms as he thought proper to dictate : whose alliance 
was of course anxiously courted by weaker states. Such was the Assyrian 
monarch in the times, to which the prophecy relates" primarily ; and such 
will be his antitype, the last head of the Roman Babylon, in the times, to which 
it relates secondarily and ultimately. Bp. Horslev in loc. 

36 



282 

will begone, I will return unto my place * ; till what time 
they acknowledge their guilt, and seek my face. When 
distress is upon them, they will rise early to seek me. 

vi. 1. Come, and let us return unto the Lord. For he 
hath torn, but he will make us whole : he hath inflicted 
the wound, but he will apply the bandage. 2. He will 
bring us to life after two days ; in the third day he will 
raise us up, and we shall live in his presence. 3. Then 
we shall know, we shall pursue after the knowledge of 
the Lord. His coming forth is fixed as the morning ; 
and he shall come upon us as the pouring shower, as 
the harvest rain, as the rain of seed-time upon the earth 
— IO-t-I have seen a horrible thing: fornications in 
Ephraim ! Israel polluted! 11. Moreover, O Judah, 
harvest- work is appointed for thee, when I bring back 
the captivity of my people. 

COMMENTARY. 

The prophet begins with foretelling the captivity of 
Judah and Israel ; and declares, that in consequence of 
their sins, they shall be deprived of their former great- 
ness and prosperity. Sensibly feeling their degraded 
situation, they shall at length endeavour to extricate 
themselves from it by the undue means of applying to a 
king, who officiously takes up all quarrels, and of whom 
the king of Assyria was a type, as the first restoration 
from Babylon was a type of the second restoration from 
the mystic Babylon or the Roman empire. Yet this king 
shall not be able to repair their damages, nor to make a 
cure of their corrupted sore. For the Lord will arise as 
a lion in his wrath, and will execute vengeance both 
upon them and their presumptuous ally. 

This king exactly answers to the description of Anti- 
christ , who will then be the last head of the Roman beast , 
as the Assyrian was the head of the Babylonian beast: and 
such accordingly I take him to be. Certain of the uncon- 
verted Jews will accept his offer to restore them to their 

* / will begone, I will return unto my place."] " I will withdraw myself 
.from them, till by a sincere humiliation they imploi'e my favour. The Chaldee 
paraphrase expresses the sense thus, I will take away my majestic presence or 
Shechinah from among them, arid will return into heaven" Mr. Lowth in loc. 



283 

own country ; and it appears likewise from the prophecy 
(what indeed is highly probable in itself), that several 
members of the kingdom of Ephraim or the ten tribes, 
now scattered through the cast, will be both invited and 
induced by him to join themselves to his confederacy. 
Such however is not tlie way, in which God has decreed 
to restore the main body of his ancient people. The king 
shall be utterly overthrown ; and many of his Israeiitish 
allies shall perish with him *. 

Yet the rest of these misguided wretches, when dis- 
tress is upon them, will rise early to seek the Lord. 
They will look upon him whom they have pierced, and 
they will mourn for him as one that mourneth for an only 
son. They will join their believing brethren, who had 
been restored by the instrumentality of the great mari- 
time power ; and with them will say, Come, and let us 
return unto the Lord. 

To express the political revivification of the house of 
Israel, Hosea, like Isaiah and Ezekiel, uses the allegory 
of a resurrection f. After two days God will bring life 
into them ; yea, in the third day he will raise them up, 
and they shall live in his presence. These three days 
mean, I apprehend, the three great days o&Patriarchism* 
Judaism, and Christianity ; that is, according to the tra- 
dition of the house of Elias, the day before the law, the 
day under the law, and the day of the Messiah. After 
the two first, and in the evening of the third, immediately 
before the commencement of the Millennium, the resur- 
rection of the whole house of Israel will take place ; first 
the resurrection of Judah, and afterwards the resurrection 
of Ephraim. Then the ancient people of God shall know, 
and pursue after the knowledge of the Lord : for his 
coming forth is sure as the return of the morning ; and 
he shall abundantly water with his Spirit that Church, 
which has long been a waste and desolate wilderness J. 

*This passage can only relate to certain individuals of the kingdom of the 
ten tribes ; for the main body of the ten tribes will be restored after the over- 
throw of Antichrist, and in consequence of the fugitives from his army being' 
scattered through all countries. Isaiah lxvi. i5 — 24. 

f " The restoration of the Jewish nation is often described, as if it were a 
new life from the dead." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

t Bp. Horsley interprets this passage somewhat differently from what, upon 
an attentive consideration of it, I have ventured to do : we both however maU 



284 

Horrible indeed have been the spiritual fornications 
both of Judah and Israel; yet, when the Lord shall bring 
back the captivity of his people, great will be the harvest- 
work appointed for Judah*. While he shall be made, on 

the period of this figurative resurrection to be the same. " Jehovah, who had 
departed, will return ; and again exhibit the signs of his presence among his 
chosen people. So the converted and restored Jews will live in his presence. 
The two days and the third day seem to denote three distinct periods of the 
Jewish people. The first day is the captivity of the ten tribes by the Assyrians, 
and of the two under the Babylonians, considered as one judgment upon the 
nation ; beginning with the captivity of the ten, and completed in that of the 
two. The second day is the whole period of the present condition of the Jews, 
beginning with the dispersion of the nation with the Romans. The third day 
is the period yet to come, beginning with their restoration at the second advent. 
R. Tanchum, as he is quoted by Dr. Pococke, was not far, I think, from the 
true meaning of the place. The prophet, he says, points out two times,-— and 
those are the first captivity, and a second. After which shall follow a third time ; 
Redemption ; after which shall be no depression or servitude. And this I take to 
be the sense of the prophecy in immediate application to the Jews. Never- 
theless, whoever is well acquainted with the allegorical style of prophecy, 
when he recollects, that our Lord's sufferings were instead of the sufferings 
and death of sinners ; that we are baptized into his death ; and by baptism 
into his death are buried with him ; and that he, rising on the third day, rais- 
ed us to the hope of life and immortality ; will easily perceive no very obscure, 
though but an oblique, allusion to our Lord's resurrection on the third day : 
since every believer may speak of our Lord's death and resurrection, as a 
common death and resurrection of all believers." Bp. Horsley in loc. 

My objection to his Lordship's interpretation is this : the Jews indeed have 
gone into two captivities, which might in some sort be termed two days ; but 
the ten tribes have gone only into one, from which they have never yet return- 
ed. Now, since the prophet directs us jointly to consider the captivity both 
of Judah and Israel, are we warranted in dividing the unbroken captivity of 
Israel into two days, merely because Judah has twice been led away captive ? 

* " Harvest- work is cut out for Judah at the season of bringing back the 
captivity. The tribe of Judah is in some extraordinary way to be an instru- 
ment of the general restoration of the Jewish people." (Bp. Horsley in loc). 
The Bishop adds, what I cannot refrain from esteeming rather too sweeping 
a clause, " Observe, that the vintage is always an image of the season of judg- 
ment ; but the harvest, of the in-gathering of' the objects of God's final mercy. I 
am not aware, that a single unexceptionable instance is to be found, in which 
the harvest is a type of judgment. In Rev. xiv. 15, 16. the sickle is thrust into 
the ripe harvest, and the earth is reaped ; that is, the elect are gathered from 
the four winds of heaven : the wheat of God is gathered into his barn (Matt, 
xiii. 30.). After this reaping of the earth, the sickle is applied to the clusters 
of the vine ; and they are cast into the great wine-press of the wrath of God 
(Rev. xiv. 18, 19, 20.) : this is judgment. In Joel iii. 13. the ripe harvest is the 
harvest of the vine, that is the grapes fit for gatheri?ig, as appears by the con- 
text. In Jerem.li. 33. the act of threshing the corn upon the floor, not the harvest, 
is the image of judgment. It is true, the burning of the tares in our Saviour's 
parable (Matt. xiii. ) is a work of judgment, and of the time of harvest, previ- 
ous to the binding up of the sheaves. But it is an incidental adjunct of the 
business, not the harvest itself I believe the harvest is never primarily, and 
in itself, an image of vengeance." 

Notwithstanding the deservedly high authority of Bp. Horsley, I still rest in 
my former opinion, that the apocalyptic harvest is a harvest of judgment, not of 
mercy (see my Dissert, on the 1260 years, Vol. II. p. 312, 313. 2d edit, p. 345— 
548); in which I am supported by Bp. Newton, Lowm an, Bengeli us, Dod~ 



285 

the one hand, a sharp threshing instrument having teeth 
to thresh the mountains like chaff; while he shall arise 
and thresh the enemies of the Lord with a horn of iron, 

dridge, and particularly Mede, who has elaborately and minutely discussed 
the point. He observes that the idea of a harvest includes three things ; the 
reaping of the corn, the gathering of it in, and the threshing of it : whence it is 
made a type in Scripture of two direct opposites ; of destruction, when the reap- 
ing and the threshing are considered ; of restitution and salvation, when the in* 
gathering is considered (Mede's Works B. Ill p. 520). Bp. Horsley separates 
the threshing from the harvest in Jerem. li. 33 ; allowing 1 that the threshing de- 
notes judgment, but denying that the harvest has ever such a signification. I 
cannot think, that the text in question warrants this separation. " The daugh- 
ter of Babylon is like a threshing floor, it is time to thresh her : yet alittle while, 
and the time of her harvest shall come.'* Here the time of her harvest seems 
manifestly to be used as synonymous with the threshing of her : and, if this be 
the case, her harvest must be a harvest ofvorath. Or, if we deny that they are 
synonymous, and separate them from each other, shall be authorized by the 
plain import of the text to say, that the threshing of Babylon denotes indeed a 
signal judgment about to befall her ; but that her harvest, which in a little 
while is coming, means some signal mercy about to be vouchsafed to her? Does 
not the text, on the contrary, force us to think with Mede, that the threshing 
is considered as a part of the harvest ; and that they both alike typify God\t 
vengeance upon Babylon ? But, however tills may be, there is another passage, 
in which both the reaping and the in-gathering of the harvest are decidedly used 
to symbolize an act, not of mercy, but of judgment. Speaking of the dispersion 
of the ivhole house of Israel, and of the very small remnant that should be left 
in the land, Isaiah uses the allegory both of the harvest, and of the conclusion 
of the vintage and olive-season. " In that day it shall come to pass, that the 
glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean : 
and it shall be, as when the harvest man gathereth the corn, and his arm 
reapeththe ears ; and it shall be, as he that gathereth ears in the valley of 
Rephaim. Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive- 
tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in 
the outmost branches of its fruitfulness" (Isaiah xvii. 4, 5, 6). In what his 
Lordship says respecting the harvest mentioned by Joel, I believe him to be 
perfectly right .• that harvest is plainly a harvest of grapes, not of corn ,• and 
the vintage of Joel undoubtedly relates to the same period as the vintage of the 
Apocalypse : they both equally typify the overthrow of the Antichristian confe- 
deracy. 

Thus, I think, it appears, that a harvest symbolizes the two opposites of 
judgment and mercy. How we are to understand it in any particular passage, 
must be determined by the context. Now the context of the apocalyptic har- 
vest seems to me most definitely to teach us, that a harvest of judgvient is 
intended. Throughout the whole book of Revelation, with the exception of 
a few places which sufficiently explain themselves (such as Rev. xx. 8, [), 
11 — and xxi. 1, 24) the earth is used as a symbol of the Roman empire pagan and 
papal. Upon this earth all the vials of God's wrath are poured out, whatever 
subsequent distinction may be made in their effusion (Rev. xvi. 1. ). It is the 
vine of this earth that is to be gathered, when her grapes are fully ripe : and it 
is the ripe harvest of this self-same earth that is to be reaped, when the time for 
reaping is come (Read attentively Rev. xiv. 14 — 20). Here we may note, that 
it is not, as in our Lord's parable (Matt. xiii. 24, 33), said to be the harvest of 
afield, which is afterwards formally explained to mean the re or Id : but, as the 
sickle is thrust into the earth to gather the vine of the earth, so is the sickle 
likewise thrust into the earth to reap the harvest of the earth. If then the earth 
mean the Roman empire in the case of the vintage, which cannot reasonably 
be doubted, since those that are cast into the wine-press are the Roman beast, 



286 

and with hoofs of brass* : he shall, on the other hand, 
become in an eminent manner the seed of the Church, 
and shall be peculiarly instrumental in gathering the great 
harvest of God's elect into the granary of the millennian 
church. 

the false prophet, and the kings of that same earth, and since (according to the 
acknowledged principles of symbolical imagery) the vine of the earth must 
denote the corrupt church of the mystic Babylon, whose abominations, — whose 
ripe clusters of iniquity, — will eventually occasion the ruin of its supporter the 
secular beast (Dan. vii. 11.) if, I say, the earth mean the Roman empire in the 
case of the vintage, must we not conclude, from the almost studied similarity 
of phraseology used by the prophet, that the earth means likewise the Roman 
empire in the case of the harvest ? And, if this be allowed, what idea can we 
annex to a reaping of the harvest of the Roman empire, which, like the grapes 
of that same empire, is declared to be ripe, except an idea of some tremendous 
judgment that should precede the vintage and more or less affect the whole em- 
pire ? In such an opinion also we shall be the more confirmed by finding, that a 
judgment about to befall Babylon, the constant apocalyptic type of t/ie Roman 
church and empire, is by Jeremiah expressly termed a harvest. This diffe- 
rence indeed there is between the two prophets, that Jeremiah dwells upon 
the third part of the harvest, the threshing ,• while St. John selects the imagery 
of the first part, the reaping : yet I cannot but think, that the context of both 
passages sufficiently shews, that a harvest of judgment, not of 'mercy is intend- 
ed. The apocalyptic harvest, by being confined to tlw earth or the Roman em- 
pire, cannot denote either the general in-gathering of 'Judah and Israel, or the 
universal influx of all nations to the Millennian church ; and since, like the 
vintage, it is exclusively confined to the idolatrous and persecuting Roma?t 
empire, since in both cases the sickle is equally thrust into this empire ; I feel 
myself compelled to conclude, that, like the vintage, it denotes some signal 
judgment. This judgment I have supposed to be the first part of the third vooe $ 
a vjoe, which must be expected to mark a period in history no less striking 
than the successive founding of the Saracenic and Turkish empires ; a vjoe, 
"which is ushered in by an event no less singular than definite, the fall of a 
tenth part of the great Roman city or of one of the ten original Gothico- Roman 
kingdoms by an earthquake. This judgment in short 1 have supposed to be the 
horrors of the French revolution, commencing on the I2th of August 1792, and 
ushered in by the fall of the monarchy both arbitrary and limited which at 
that time was the only one that remained of all the ten original kingdoms ; a 
revolution, which in its consequences, or (to adopt the prophetic phraseology) 
during the reaping of the harvest of the earth, has been felt to the remotest 
parts of the Roman empire : and as yet I have seen no reason to alter my 
opinion. 

To return from this not unnecessary digression : the harvest -viork, appoint- 
ed for Judah, may be either of mercy or of judgment, perhaps of both. At 
least we find, that, as Judah will probably be made an instrument of turning 
many to righteousness, so he will likewise be made a sharp threshing instru- 
ment to thresh all the enemies of God. His harvest- work will be double and 
opposite. It will consist both of an in-gathering of the good, and of a thresh* 
£ng of the wicked even with hoofs of brass. 

* Isaiah xli. 15— Micah iv. 13— See afcso Zechar. xii. 2—6, 



287 

PROPHECY XXIX. 

The successive restoration of Judah and Israel. 

Hosea xi. 8. How shall I give thee up, O Ephraim; 
abandon thee, O Israel? How shall I make thee as 
Admah ; place thee in the condition of Zeboim ? My 
heart is turned upon me ; my bowels yearn altogether. 
9. I will not execute the fury of mine anger ; I will not 
return * to make destruction of Ephraim. For God I 
am, and not man ; the Holy One in the midst of thee, 
although I am no frequenter of cities f . 10. They shall 
walk after the Lord. Like a lion he shall roar J; verily he 
himself shall roar ; and children shall hurry § from the 

* I will not return. - } " When I come a second time, it will not be to de- 
stroy. An indirect promise of coming again, not for judgment, but for 
mercy." Bp. Horsley in loc. 

f I am no frequenter of cities. ~\ "Dwelling with thee, but in a peculiar 
and extraordinary manner, not after the manner of men. I am no frequenter 
of cities in general." Bp. Horsley in loc. 

+ Like a lion he shall roar.} I fully agree with Bp. Horsley, that the pro- 
phet speaks of two distinct successive roarings of the Lord: and that, as the 
first roaring brings children from the west, so the second brings them from 
Egypt and Assyria. But I cannot think, that the one relates to the first advent 
of our Lord and the conversion of the Gentiles; and the other t contradistinctivcly 
to his second advent and the conversion of the natural Israel. When Hosea is 
predicting that the whole house of Israel shall walk with the Lord, it seems 
both unnatural and unnecessary to suppose that he suddenly digresses to the 
conversion of the Gentiles at the first advent. And, when we find it repeatedly 
declared by the prophets, that the house of Israel shall be restored in two 
grand divisions, first the house of Judah from the west, and afterwards the 
house of Joseph from the east and the north ; T cannot but think it most natural, 
and most consonant with the tenor of the present prediction, to apply the 
two roarings with their respective effects to the t%vo fold and successive restora- 
tion of the whole house of Israel. 

§ Children shall hurry.} Bp. Horsley argues, that, since the expression is 
neither their children nor my children, but simply children, the natural Israelis 
thereby excluded, and the Gentile converts at the first advent are pointed out, as 
those that hurried from the west. This argument seems to me to destroy it- 
self by proving too much. Some children of the same family, that hurry from 
the west, hurry likewise from Egypt and Assyria: for to whom can the they, 
which is the subject to the second verb shall hurry, relate, except the children, 
which is the subject to the first verb shall hurry ? Children then equally hurry 
from the west at the first roaring, and from Egypt and Assyria at the second 
roaring. But, if children simply cannot mean the natural Israel in one case, 
neither can they mean the natural Israel in the other case. His Lordship how- 
ever maintains, that they (i. e. the children, for to what antecedent can they be 
referred except the children ?) do mean the natural Israel In the second case : 
it will follow therefore, that children (the antecedent of they) must mean 
another branch of the natural Israel in the first case. Or, e converso, if children 
in the one case do not mean part of the natural Israel,- then neither can thr: 



288 

west *. 11. They shall hurry like the sparrow from Egypt, 
and like the dove from Assyria f : and I will settle them 
in their own houses, saith the Lord. 12. Ephraim hath 
compassed me about with treachery, and the house of 
Israel with deceit. But Judah shall yet obtain dominion J 
with God, and shall be established with the Holy Ones ||. 

COMMENTARY. 

This prophecy relates to the restoration of the -whole 
house of Israel, for both Judah and Ephraim are particu- 
larized in it. Long as the captivity of Judah has been, 
longer yet as the captivity of Ephraim has been ; yet 
God will never forget or abandon his people Israel. In 
due season they shall surely walk after the Lord, not- 
withstanding they now seem to be forsaken by him. 
When that season arrives, twice will he exalt his voice, 
and roar aloud. At the first roaring, children shall hurry 
from the west : the converted Jews shall be rapidly brought 
back from the western regions of Europe by the instru- 
mentality of the great maritime power. At the second 
roaring, other children shall hurry like the sparrow from 
Egypt, and like the dove from Assyria : the converted 
Israelites shall return from the countries of their disper- 
sion, and particularly from the land of Assyria whither 
they were originally carried, and in the neighbourhood 

(the children J in the other case mean part of the natural Israel. Mr. Lowth 
understands the passage as I do. 

* Shall hurry from the west.] Isaiah similarly predicts the return of Judah. 
" They shall lift up their voice ; they shall exult in the majesty of the Lord ; 
they shall shout from the west. W T herefore glorify ye the Lord by Urim, the 
name of the Lord God of Israel in the isles of the sea." (Isaiah xxiv. 14 ,15.) 
And again : " Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish 
first, to bring thy sons from far." Isaiah Ix. 9. 

| They shall hurry- from Egypt— -and Assyria."] Thus Isaiah foretells the 
restoration of those that were lost in Assyria and were outcasts in the land 
of Egypt. See Isaiah xxvii. 12, 13. and compare xi. 15, 16.— xix. 23, 24, 25. 
and Zechar. x. 10, 11 See Mr. Lowth in loc. 

\ Obtain dominion."] " A promissory allusion to a final restoration of the 
Jewish monarchy." Rp. Horsley in loc. 

(I Established with the Holy Ones.] "The word established may signify either 
the constancy of JudaK 's fidelity to the Holy Ones ; or the firmness of the support 
which he shall receive from them. The Holy Ones, the Holy Trinity. By the 
use of this plural word the prophecy clearly points to the conversion of the 
Jewish people to the Christian faith. Even the Jewish expositors, R. Tan- 
chum and Kimchi, understand this plural word in this place as signifying 
God." Bp. Horsley in loc. 



289 



of which they are now lost. Thus, notwithstanding their 
former treachery and deceit, God will settle them in their 
own houses, and establish them with the Holy Ones. 



PROPHECY XXX. 

The restoration and conversion of Israel — His rejection of 
Antichrist. 

Hosea xiv. 1. Return, O Israel *, unto the Lord thy 
God, for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity* 2. Take 
with you words, and return unto the Lord. Say unto 
him, Take away all iniquity, and accept good. So will 
we render thee bullocks, our own lips f. 3. The Assy- 
rian shall not save us ; we will mount no cavalry, and 
no more we will say, Our gods are ye, to the work of 
our own hands : inasmuch as with thee the fatherless 
obtaineth fond protection. 4. I will restore their conver- 
sion J. I will love them gratuitously ; for mine anger is 
departed from me. 5. I will be as the dew unto Israel; 
he shall blossom as the lily, and strike his roots like the 
forest trees of Lebanon. 6. His suckers shall spread 
farther and farther ; and he shall be like the olive tree, 
for his beauty; and a smell shall be in him like the smell 
of Lebanon. 7. They shall return. Sitting under his 
shadow, they shall abound in corn. They shall germinate 
like the vine, and be famous as the wine of Lebanon. 
8. Ephraim ! What have I to do any more with idols ||? 

* Return, O Israel.'] " The whole family of Israel, in both its branches, is 
addressed." Bp. Horsley in loc. 

f Bulloch, our ovm lips.] " Lips are here put for praises arid thanksgivings 
uttered by the lips. This kind of metonymy, which puts the cause or instru- 
ment for the effect, is very frequent, with the sacred writers. By calling- vocal 
devotions bullocks, the phraseology shews, that this form of supplication is 
prepared for those times, when animal sacrifices will be abolished, and 
prayer and thanksgiving will be the only offering." Bp. Horsley in loc. 

+ Their conversion.] " That is, their converted race. I take conversion as a 
collective noun for converts ,• like captivity, for the captives, and dispersion, for 
the dispersed. The converted nation God promises to restore to his favour, 
and to a situation of prosperity and splendour." Bp. Horsley in loc. 

fl Ephraim— idols.] " An exultation of Jehovah over idols. Ephraim ' 
Even he is returned to me. I have no more contest to carry on with idols v . 
They are completely overthrown. My sole Godhead is confessed." Bp 
Horsl v in loc. 

37 



290 

I have answered him. And I will make him flourish 
like a green fir-tree. From me thy fruit is supplied. 

9. Who is wise * ? for he will consider these things ; 
intelligent ? for he shall comprehend them. For straight 
and even are the ways of the Lord, and the justified shall 
proceed in them, but revolters shall stumble therein f. 

COMMENTARY. 

Hosea concludes his prophecies with declaring in the 
strongest terms, that God will surely restore the converted 

* Who is kvisc . ? ] This passage exactly tallies with what Daniel says rela- 
tive to the same awful period. See Dan. xii. 10. 

f Revolters shall stumble therein.~\ " To the incorrigible enemies of God the 
very scheme of mercy itself will be a cause of error, confusion, and ruin, 
The word cyjjpa expresses a degree and enormity of disobedience far beyond 
any thing" contained in the notion of transgressors, prevaricators, or any other 
denomination of guilt, by which the word is rendered in our English Bible. 
It denotes rebels, in the highest sense of the word ; such as rise in opposition 
to the authority of a sovereign, because he is by right a sovereign ; and in a 
religious sense, such as wilfully, with premeditation, disobey God from ha- 
tred of his authority- --j;pq is a bold avowed rebellion, or revolt, disowning the 
authority of the sovereign, and having for its end the overthrow of his sove- 
reignty. But it will be said ; Who ever was so mad, as to avow or entertain 
a design or hope of overthrowing the sovereignty of God ? I say, Numbers 
in all ages of the world. Atheists, Deists, Idolaters, and secular powers that 
persecute revealed religion. Many of these indeed retain the name of a God, 
or Gods, as signifying, in their conceptions, an Animus mundi, or physical 
powers in different parts of the material world. But they all disown and 
oppose the God of the Old Testament, and the New ; the God of Jews, and 
of Christians. And they endeavour what they can to overthrow his authority, 
by uniting their efforts (in vain, but much in earnest) for the extirpation of 
the Christian religion. If those, who, in the present day, are most forward, 
and most powerful, in this work of impiety, affect a partiality for the Jews ; 
it is, because they hope to draw them in to take a part in the demolition of 
Christianity : and, when that is effected, they expect to find in Judaism an 
easy conquest. Whether any part, or what part, of the Jews may be drawn 
into this snare of hell, we presume not to predict. We hope, that the great 
majority of the race will have too much discretion to be duped. This at least 
we know, that ultimately the whole race of Israel, of the natural Israel, will 
return and seek Jehovah their God, and David their king. They shall return, and, 
sitting under his shadow, they will flourish. The head of the faction leagued 
against us and them, against our God and theirs, is the devil. If I am not 
much mistaken, he is more than once named in Scripture ype ; the participle 
Benoni Kal being used as an appellative in the singular number, to denote 
The rebel, The apostate. And the same participle in the plural, which is the 
word here, denotes the followers of that chief, Rebels, Revolters."* Bp. 
Horsley in loc. 

Let the reader, keeping in his mind this criticism of Bp. Horsley, compare 
what I say relative to the revolters here spoken of, with the apocalyptic account 
of the instigator of the revived Roman beast, the secret promoters of Me Anti- 
christian confederacy, and the avowed object of that confederacy when formed ; 
with St. Paul's description of the man of sin; with Ezekiel's representation of 
the mystic prince of Tyre; with DanieFs relation of the fate which is ahout to 



291 

race of Israel, Ephraim no less than Jadah, and bless them 
in their own land with a wonderful degree oi' plenty and 
prosperity. Since by the mention of Ephraim it is evi- 
dent that this prediction yet remains to be accomplished, 
for Ephraim has never yet been restored, we must neces- 
sarily conclude, that the Assyrian, here mentioned, is the 
anti typical Assyrian, or Antichrist noxv become the last head 
of the mystic Babylon. Here then we have an oblique, 
but sufficiently plain, allusion to the attempt which cer- 
tain unconverted Jews will make to effect their return by 
the assistance of the Antichristian conjcdcracy, and to their 
subsequent penitence and conversion. 

In the last verse Hosea observes, that, plain as the ways 
of the Lord are, revolters will stumble in them, but that 
the justified shall proceed in them. By these revolters I 
understand those incorrigible enemies of God, who, falling 
from the apostasy of Popery to the yet blacker apostasy 
of Infidelity, and afterwards for mere ambitiously politi- 
cal purposes restoring the form of a corrupt religion which 
in their hearts they disbelieve *, shall at length league 
themselves in a misnamed religious war with the Romish 

befall the feet of the image and the Roman beast with his little horn, and with 
his strongly drawn character of the wilful king ,• and lastly with St. John's 
concise, though pointed, definition of Antichrist. He will then, I think, have 
but little reason to doubt, who are intended hy these notorious revolters at the 
era of the restoration of the Jews. See Rev. xii. 3, 9, 17.---xiii. 1, 2, 4, 6.--- 
xvi. 13—16. xix. II— 21.— 2 Thessal. ii. 3— 12,— Ezek. xxviii. 2— 10.— Dan. 
ii. 34, 35, 44, 45.— vii. 8—11, 20— 27.— xi. 36— 45.— xii. 1, 7, 10— aTul I John 
ii. 22. 

* Mr. Yorke finishes his description of the farcial celebration of the re-estab- 
lishment of Popery by General Buonaparte, in the following remarkable words. 
" These are the principal incidents which occurcd at Notre Dame. I leave 
you to form a just idea of the emotions of those present, w hether they be con- 
sidered as Christians or not. The far greater part of the Senate, the Legis- 
lative Body, the Tribunate, and the Generals, being 1 avowed atheists, and 
notorious for the murders, thefts, and atrocities, which they had perpetrated ; 
with their Chief Magistrate, who had worshipped at the altar of atheism some 
years before in Paris, who afterwards knelt down before the Pope at Rome, 
and embraced the religion of Mohammed in Africa; assembled together in 
one place to adore a god in whom they had no faith, and to profess ;i religion 
which they despised, merely that they might be enabled to preserve their 
usui'ped authority over the people, and to retain their places ; is an occur- 
rence in the history of pious fraud, not to be met with since the days of Judas 
Iscariot. I may safely venture to affirm, that, with the exception of the 
Bishops (if they may be excepted), there was not a single person in the cathe- 
dral, who quitted this religious mockery with a sentiment of piety excited in 
his breast, nor one, who did not perfectly see through the whole object of the 
ceremony." Letters from France in 1802. Vol. I. p. 269, 270. 



292 

man of sin, and attain the summit of deliberate impiety by 
openly opposing the counsels of the Most High respect- 
ing his ancient people the Jews. 



PROPHECY XXXI. 

Irruption of Antichrist into Palestine — His destruction there — 
General effusion of the Holy Spirit — A description of the over- 
throw of the confederated nations at the period of the restoration 
of Judah. 

Joel i. 1. The word of the Lord that came unto Joel, 
the son of Pethuel. 2. Hear this, ye old men, and give 
ear, ail ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in 
your days, or even in the days of your fathers ? 3. Tell 
ye your children of it, and let your children tell their 
children, and their children another generation. 4. That, 
which the palmer- worm hath left, hath the locust eaten ; 
and that, which the locust hath left, hath the canker-worm 
eaten ; and that, which the canker-worm hath left, hath 
the caterpillar eaten — 6. For a nation is come up upon 
my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are 
the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek-teeth of a 
great lion. 7. He hath laid my vine waste, and barked 
my fig-tree : he hath made it clean bare, and cast it 
away ; the branches thereof are made white — 

14. Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly ; gather 
the elders, and all the inhabitants of the land into the 
house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord. 
15. Alas for the day ! for the day of the Lord is at hand, 
and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come — 

iL 1. Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an 
alarm in my holy mountain : let all the inhabitants of 
the land tremble : for the day of the Lord cometh, for it 
is nigh at hand ; 2. A day of darkness and of gloominess, 
a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning 
spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong: 
there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any- 
more after it, even to the years of many generations. 
3. A fire devoureth before them ; and behind them a 



293 

flame burnetii : the land is as the garden of Eden before 
them, and behind them a desolate wilderness ; yea, and 
nothing shall escape them. 4. The appearance of them 
is as the appearance of horses ; and as horsemen, so shall 
they run. 5. Like the noise of the chariots on the tops 
of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of 
fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in 
battle array. 6. Before their face the people shall be 
much pained : all faces shall gather blackness. 7. They 
shall run like mighty men, they shall climb the wall like 
men of war ; and they shall march every one on his ways, 
and they shall not break their ranks. 8. Neither shall 
one thrust another, they shall walk every one in his path : 
and, when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be 
wounded. 9. They shall run to and fro in the city; 
they shall run to and fro upon the wall ; they shall climb 
up upon the houses ; they shall enter m at the windows 
like a thief. 10. The earth shall quake before them ; the 
heavens shall tremble : the sun and the moon shall be 
dark; and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 11. And 
the Lord shall utter his voice before his army : for his 
camp is very great ; for the strong One executeth his 
word : for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible ; 
and who can abide it? 

12. Therefore also now saith the Lord, Turn ye even 
to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with 
weeping, and with mourning — 17. Let the priests, the 
ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the 
altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and 
give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen 
should rule over them : wherefore should they say among 
the people, Where is their God ? 

18. Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and 
pity his people. 19. Yea, the Lord will answer, and say 
unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, 
and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith : and I will no 
more make you a reproach among the heathen. 20. But 
I will remove far oflf from you the northern one, and will 
drive him into a land made by his ravages barren and 
desolate, with his face toward the east- sea, and his 
hinder part toward the utmost sea : and his stink shall 



294 

come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he 
hath done great things. 21. Fear not, O land, be glad, 
and rejoice ; for the Lord will do great things — 23. Be 
glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord 
your God : for he will give you the former rain mode- 
rately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, 
the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. 
24. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats 
shall overflow with wine and oil. 25. And I will restore 
to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker- 
worm, and the caterpiller, and the palmer- worm, my 
great army, which I sent among you. 26. And ye shall 
eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the 
Lord your God, that hath dealt wonderously with you : 
and my people shall never be ashamed. 27. And ye shall 
know, that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the 
Lord your God, and none else : and my people shall never 
be ashamed. 

28, And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will 
pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your 
daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream 
dreams, your young men shall see visions : 29. And also 
upon the servants and upon the hand maids in those days 
will I pour out my spirit. 

30. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in 
the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke. 31. The 
sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into 
blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord 
come. 32. And it shall come to pass, that, whoever 
shall call on the the name of the Lord, shall be delivered: 
for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, 
as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the 
Lord will call. 

iii. l.-# For behold, in those days and in that time, 
when I shall bring again the captivity |- of Judah and 

* Chap. iii. l.~\ " The following prophecy relates to the latter times of the 
world : when, upon their conversion, God shall deliver the Jews from their op- 
pressors, and restore them to their own land. The prophet likewise foretells 
the destruction of their enemies and other unbelievers in some decisive battle, 
such as that mentioned Rev. xvi. 14, and the glorious state of the Church that 
should follow." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

f The captivity. ~\ A noun of number, as Chandler rightly remarks, denot- 
ing those who were carried away captive. 



295 

Jerusalem *, 2. I will also gather all the nations, and will 
bring them down into the valley of the Lord's j udgmer. 
and will plead with them there for my people and for / 
heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among 
nations, and they have divided my land, 3. And tl 
have cast lots for my people ; and have given a boy 
an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drij 
4. Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre : 
Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine ? will ye render me 
a swift recompense ? and, if ye recompense me, sw 
and speedily will I return your recompense upon your 
own head ; 5. Because ye have taken my silver and my 
gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly 
pleasant things : 6. The children also of Judah and the 
children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the lonim, that 
ye might remove them far from their border. 7. Behold, 
I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold 
them, and will return your recompense upon your own 
head. 8. And I will sell your sons and your daughters 
into the hand of the children of Judah ; and they shall 
sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the 
Lord hath spoken it. 

9. Proclaim ye this among the nations J : sanctify war, 
wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw 
near, let them come up. 10. Beat your plow-shares into 
swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears : let the 
weak say, I am strong. 11. Assemble yourselves and 
come, all ye nations ; and gather yourselves together 
round about : thither cause thy mighty ones to come 
down, O Lord. 12. Let the nations be roused, and 

* The captivity of Judah ajid Jerusalem.] * This is to be understood of 
that restoration of the Jewish nation and their capital city, which shall be 
brought to pass in the latter times of the world, according to the predictions 
of the prophets." Mr.. Lowth in loc. 

"j- Livill also gather all the nations, and will bring them down into the valley of 
the Lord's judgment."] "The prophets speak of a general discomfiture of 
God's enemies in some decisive battle before the general judgment— Suck 
probably is the battle of Armageddon, spoken of Rev. xvi. 14, 16. The place 
of this remarkable action is here called the valley of Jehoshaphat, as if the 
prophet had said, the place vohere the Lord voill execute judgment, for so the 
•word Jehoshaphat signifies in the original." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

+ Proclaim ye this among the nations.] " The prophet returns to what he 
had mentioned (ver. 2.) concerning the heathen or unbelieving world gather- 
ing themselves either to oppose the Jews in their return homeward, or some 
other way to hinder the growth of Christ's kingdom." Mr. Lowth in loc 



296 

come up to the valley of the Lord's judgment : for there 
will I the Lord sit to judge all the nations round about. 
13. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe : come, get 
ye down, for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their 
wickedness is great. 14. Multitudes, multitudes, in the 
valley of cutting off: for the day of the Lord is near in 
the valley of cutting off. 15. The sun and the moon shall 
be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 
16. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his 
voice from Jerusalem ; and the heavens and the earth 
shall shake : but the Lord will be the hope of his people, 
and the strength of the children of Israel. 17. So shall 
ye know, that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion 
my holy mountain : then shall Jerusalem be holy *, and 
there shall no strangers pass through her any more f . 
18. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the moun- 
tains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow 
with milk J, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with 
waters, and a fountain J shall come forth of the house of 
the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim. 19. Egypt 
shall be a desolation, and Edom|| shall be a desolate 
wilderness, for the violence against the children of Ju- 
dah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. 
20. But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from 
generation to generation. 21. For shall I declare inno- 
cent their blood ? I will not declare it innocent. Even 
the Lord dwelleth in Zion. 

COMMENTARY. 

In this prediction Joel gives us a full account of what 
shall take place in the great day of the Lord, and in the 
period which ushers in that great day. He beholds the 

* Then shall Jerusalem be holy."} " This character — may be understood of 
the earthly Jerusalem, as the metropolis of the converted Jews. As the inha- 
bitants themselves shall be holy, so the city shall be called the holy city, as in 
former times it was." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

■f There shall no strangers pass through her any more.'] " It shall no more 
be subject to be polluted or oppressed by unbelievers." Mr. Lowth in loc. 
Compare Nahum i. 15. and Luke xxi. 24. 

t The mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk."] 
*' In the Millennial state there shall be plenty of all things." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

§ A fountain."] Compare Zechar. xiii. 1. and see Mr. Lowth in loc. 

IT Egypt — Edom."] " These two nations are taken in a general sense for 
the enemies of God's people." Mr. Lowth in loc. 



297 

armies of Antichrist, numerous and rapacious as locusts 
and caterpillers, spreading themselves over the whole 
land of Palestine, and devouring all its produce. He 
beholds them effecting wonderful revolutions in the poli- 
tical heavens, and marvellously succeeding in all their 
enterprizes. And he solemnly calls upon the house of 
Judah, now wholly converted to the faith of Christ and 
occupying their ancient city Jerusalem, to fast and pray 
that they may be delivered from the hand of their ene- 
mies. Their petition will eventually be successful ; 
though, as we learn from Daniel and Zcchariah, Anti- 
christ will first be permitted to make himself master of 
Jerusalem. In due time, the Lord will hear the cry of his 
people, and will no longer suffer them to be a reproach 
and a proverb among the nations. He will remove far 
from them the northern tyrant, that fierce leader of the 
great Roman confederacy ; who, prevented by the decid- 
ed naval superiority of the faithful maritime power from 
attempting an expedition by sea, will invade Palestine 
by land, and will therefore necessarily enter it from the 
north : and he will drive him into the land which his 
own merciless extortions have made desolate, and will 
there destroy him between the two seas of Judea, the 
Dead sea on the east, and the Mediterranean sea on the 
west. After the destruction of Antichrist and his rebel- 
lious host, the land shall again bring forth her increase 
with ten-fold fertility : and God will abundantly restore 
to his people the produce of those years, which that great 
army * of symbolical locusts and caterpillers had devour- 
ed. In addition to the blessings of temporal prosperity, 

* We arc not to suppose, that, because God styles the symbolical locusts 
and their fellows his great arm y, they are therefore his favoured and chosen 
people. The expression is only used to intimate, that they are a scourge in 
his hand, well adapted to punish the wickedness of surrounding- papal nations, 
and to discipline with wholesome though severe chastisement his church 
both protestant and Judaical. Precisely in the same manner God calls Nebu- 
chadnezzar his servant (Jcrem xliii. 10.), because he was the instrument, 
however unconscious of it, and however bent only upon executing" his own 
schemes of aggrandisement, of accomplishing the divine purposes. The idea 
in fact is so obvious, that Attila king of the Huns actually styled himself the 
scourge of God ; and boasted that his commission, as the executioner of the 
just anger of the Almighty, was to fill the earth with all kind of evils. There 
is however a peculiar propriety in denominating the symbolical locusts God's 
army, because, as Bochart observes, the Arabs were wont to distinguish. 
Natural locusts by that very title. 

38 



298 

he will bestow upon them the yet greater blessings of 
pure religion. He will pour out, in a manner unknown 
in former ages, his Holy Spirit upon all flesh ; insomuch 
that the day of Pentecost itself shall be only a type of this 
yet greater and more extensive effusion. Nevertheless, 
before the great and terrible day of the Lord shall come, 
the world shall be convulsed with unexampled political 
changes and revolutions. But, wonderful as the success 
of Antichrist shall be during his permitted hour *, the 
believer will only infer from these predicted signs that 
his redemption draweth near. Whosoever shall call on 
the name of the Lord shall surely be delivered ; for he 
will save both the remnant of his people Israel, and his 
spiritually wise children of the uncircumcision. 

The prophet now proceeds to give a more full account 
of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He declares, 
that, when God shall bring again the captivity of Judah 
and Jerusalem, he will likewise gather all the nations into 
the valley of his judgment, and will plead with them on 
account of the unjust violence with which they have 
scattered Israel. These nations, as we are taught by 
Daniel and St. John, are those which will compose the 
great Antichristian Roman confederacy. Joel, like Eze- 
iiel, typically terms one branch of the confederacy Tyre 
and Zidon f . He also, like St. John, terms it Egypt ; and, 
like many of the ancient prophets, he denominates the 
whole confederacy Edom %. With an awful and sublime 

*" He shall prosper," says the prophet Daniel, "till the indignation be 
accomplished." Dan. xi. 36. 

f Chandler, agreeably to his scheme, understands the literal Tyre and Zidon., 
And supposes that they might have bought some of the Jewish prisoners from 
the Edomites. But, if the prophecy relate to the final restoration of Judah, as 
I think it must, Tyre and Zidon will mean the corrupt church of Rome, as in 
Ezek. xxvii. and xxviii. 

% Egypt and Edom are literally understood by Chandler, though he acknow- 
ledges that it is impossible from histoiy to fix the particular event by which 
the prophecy was accomplished. Kimchi comes much nearer thetratb, and 
speaks a language much more accordant with many other ancient predictions, 
in supposing that Egypt means the Mohammedans, and Edom the Romans. I 
am rather inclined however to think, that both Egypt and Edom equally 
•typify the Antichristian confederacy of the Roman beast and his vassals. Egypt 
is used by St. John as a type of the Roman empire (Rev. xi. 8.) along with. 
Sodom; whence it is not unnatural to conclude, that it here likewise along 
with Edom means the same. As for the Mohammedans, although their super- 
stition will be broken without hand at this period (Dan. viii. 25.), I cannot 
$nd that we have any warrant for supposing that they will nationally be 



299 

inversion of a prediction of Isaiah, he calls upon the 
nations, which arrange themselves under the banners of 
Antichrist, to beat their plough-shares into swords, and 
their pruning-hooks into spears. He calls upon them to 
wake up the mighty men, and to sanctify war * ; to pro- 
claim a miscalled holy crusade against those, whom the 
infidel and papal tyrants have devoted with an anathema 
to utter destruction : and he declares, that in such a 
cause even the weak shall think themselves strong. Yet, 
when the nations are roused, when they have assembled 
themselves together in the valley of judgment, in the 
valley of the cursing of Megiddo; then will the Lord sit 
as a judge in the day of his great controversy with the 
Gentiles. The harvest of the rank vine of the Roman 
earth is now fully ripe : and the Almighty Word of God 
begins to tread the wine-press ofRozrah, and to sprinkle 
his garments with the blood of Edom^. The sun and the 
moon of the Latin firmament shall then be darkened J, 
and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The long- 
lived Roman beast shall be slain, and his false prophet 

engaged in the last war of Me beast. One great branch of them, Turkey, will 
be destroyed previous to that era; and the other branch, Persia, is situated 
without the limits of the Roman empire. 1 will not however positively deny, 
that the Mohammedans may be intended by Egypt. They certainly answer, 
no less than the Papists, to the prophetic description of committing violence 
against Me children of Judah, and shedding- innocent blood ; innocent at least, 
so far as they were concerned. Gibbon, though by no means unfriendly to 
Mohammed, states, that that impostor "commanded or approved the assas- 
sination of the Jews and idolaters, who had escaped from the field of battle.'' 

* The sanctification of this war, and the destroying anathema, with which 
Daniel's wilful king goes out to his work of devastation, equally, I think, 
relate to the apocalyptic junction of the false prophet Viiih the Roman beast under 
his last head and the confederated kings of the Latin earth. We seem to gather 
from these parallel passages, that the last war will be undertaken by the 
Antichristian faction as a sort of crusade or holy war. 

■j- The vintage, here spoken of, is the great vintage of Armageddon under the 
last vial. Compare Isaiah Ixiii. 1—6. and Rev. xiv. 17— -20. xix. 15. This 
studied uniformity of metaphor, for 1 can consider it in no other lig'ht, affords 
an argument to prove, that we ought to refer the prophecy of Joel to the 
second advent, and not to the period which Chandler imagines. 

i I understand by this imagery Me final overthrow of Antichrist. It may 
perhaps be -said, that, while 1 shortly after object to (.'handler because ha 
affixes such various meanings to the phrase of the great day of the Lord as 
used by Joel, I myself apply differently Me sighs in the political heavens as 
mentioned in this passage and in the two preceding passages. My answer, 
is, that I am expressly warranted by the prophet himself in making such a 
distinction. The signs in the heavens, predicted in Joel ii. 10 and 30, 31, are 
occasioned by the locust-army and precede the great day of the Lord : whereas 
those, predicted in Joel iii. 15, are, in the clay of the Lord ; and the total over- 



300 

shall be brought to utter destruction. For the Lord shall 
roar out of Zion, and shall be the hope of his people 
Israel. Jerusalem shall be holy, and shall no more be 
trampled under foot by strangers : the mountains shall 
drop down with new wine : and the waters of life, the 
healing streams of the Gospel, shall come forth out of 
the house of the Lord. 

The learned Chandler * seems to me very greatly to 
have mistaken the drift of this prophecy of Joel. The 
nation spoken of in the first, and afterwards described at 
large in the second chapter, is undoubtedly a nation of 
locusts : no one, I apprehend, will be inclined to deny so 
plain a matter. But the question is, whether they be 
natural, or symbolical, locusts. Chandler resolutely main- 
tains the first of these positions, and labours fruitlessly 
(I think) to remove the difficulties with which it is clog- 
ged. If ever Judea, in the da}-s of her monarchy, had 
been visited by such a plague of locusts as that described 
by the prophet, a plague in no respects inferior to that 
with which Egypt was once visited, we might reasona- 
bly expect to find it mentioned in the historical part of 
Scripture. But nothing, that bears any resemblance to 
it, can there be discovered. Chandler indeed quotes R. 
Kimchi, as producing a Jewish tradition, that during four 
out of the seven years of famine predicted by Elisha f 
there were four species of locusts, and that during the 
other three there was a great want of rain. The sacred 
text itself however gives not the least countenance to 
this mere Rabbinical gloss ; and, even if it did, Chand- 
ler would have put it out of his power to avail himself of 
it by fixing the age of Joel in the reign of Ahaz, whereas 
Elisha's famine occurred in the days of Jehoram the son 
of Ahab considerably more than a century earlier. Ac- 

throw of the Antichristian confederacy, or the utter destruction of the Roman 
beast in his last form (Dan. vii. 11.), is the subject of them. Christ predicts 
in a similar manner, that his advent should be preceded, and as it were 
ushered in, by signs in the sun and moon (See Matt. xxiv. 29, 30, 33. Mark 
xiii. 24, 25, 26, 29. and Luke xxi. 25, 26, 27, 28, 31.) : unless indeed we are 
bound to refer these different transcripts of the same prophecy to the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem by the Romans exclusively. I have never yet met with an 
exposition of our Lord's prophecy, that gave me entire satisfaction. 

* To save the trouble of endless particular references, I beg- to refer the 
reader in general to Chandler's Comment, on Joel, and the annexed Disser- 
tation, -j- 2 Kings viiL 1, 



301 

cordingly he does not attempt to produce any account of 
these locusts from the scriptural history *. 

But this difficulty is by no means the only one. Joel 
declares, that the army of locusts shall cause the heavens 
to quake, and the earth to tremble ; that the sun and the 
moon shall be dark before them ; and that the stars shall 
withdraw their shining f. These magnificent images, as 
it is well known, denote in the prophetic language great 
wars and revolutions, wherein . established governments 
are either overthrown, or at least shaken to their very 
centre. Some great political commotion therefore must 
have taken place in consequence of the ravages of these 
locusts. Now, although a brief history might be silent 
respecting a mere plague of locusts ; yet, if that plague 
occasioned a revolution in the government, it is incre- 
dible that the very shortest history should then have pre- 
served a profound silence. Where then do we find any 
such circumstance mentioned in the sacred history ? To 
get quit of this difficulty Chandler maintains, that the ex- 
pressions in question are to be understood literally. He 
tells us, that the earth really appears to tremble through 
the continual motion of a swarm of locusts ; or at least 
that it may be fairly said to tremble through the excessive 
fear of its inhabitants : that the heavens shake, because 
the locusts obscure the very light of them : that the sun 
is turned into darkness, because they ordinarily fly in the 
day time, and that in such numbers as to darken even 
the sun himself : and that the moon and the stars with- 
draw their shining, because they may be supposed in 
warm eastern countries sometimes to shift their place by 
night. 

Here an objector would naturally urge, that much the 
same imagery is twice elsewhere used by Joelf : are we 
then to conclude, that he is there likewise to be under- 
stood literally? for, to make him consistent with himself, 
we must, in all the three parallel passages, understand him 
cither literally throughout, ox figuratively throughout. 

* Bochart, who like Chandler understands the locusts literally, exerts all 
his ingenuity to parry the force of this argument, which had been Btrenuously 
urged by St. Jerome ; but, I think, with very little success. Sec Hteroz. Pars 
1. L. !v. C 5. p. 482. 

f Joelii. 10. foe] u 30, 31. and iii. 15 



302 

For this objection Chandler is prepared ; and tells us, 
that the fire and pillars of smoke, mentioned in the 30th 
verse of the 2d chapter, mean only the fire and smoke 
that proceed from burning towns and villages ; and that 
the smoke, as it ascends, darkens the sun, and gives the 
moon a red and bloody appearance. He acknowledges 
indeed the propriety of Sir Isaac Newton's remark, that 
the darkening the sun, and the turning the moon into blood, 
denote the ceasing or desolation of a kingdom : but adds, 
that it is evident from the 10th verse of the 2d chapter, 
that it does not always denote this ; and thence infers, 
that neither does it in the 31st verse. Thus does he 
attempt to decide the sense of one disputed passage, by 
referring us to another which is no less disputed. The 
third passage, contained in the 15th verse of the 3d chap- 
ter, he treats in the same manner ; and refers us, for an 
authority, to what he had said on the second passage. 
What is this but completely arguing in a circle ? As for 
what Chandler says respecting the literal acceptation of 
all the three passages, it is so totally contrary to the 
universal spirit of prophetic language, and so plainly 
contrived (particularly in the case of the first passage) to 
serve a turn ; that I scruple not to assert, that there is 
not the slightest foundation for it. It will follow there- 
fore, unless I be greatly mistaken in this assertion, that 
the locust-army, which occasions dreadful political revo- 
lutions, can not be an army composed of literal locusts. 

The opinion here advanced by me is adopted, as 
Chandler himself acknowledges, by the Chaldee Para- 
phrast, Grotius, and Jerome*. The first of these writers 
renders Joel ii. 5, Peoples, nations, tongues, emperors, 
and revenging kingdoms. The second thinks, that the 
prophet does not mean real locusts ; but that he points 
out under such imagery the successive irruptions of 
Phul, Tiglathphilasar, Salmanasar, and Sennacherib. The 
third agrees with Grotius in principle ; but differs from 
him in the application of the prediction. He observes, 
in explaining Chap. ii. Ver. 20, that the northern one 
means the Assyrians and Chaldeans, who came from the 
north ; and adds, that the term northern is here used to 

* % is likewise adopted by Abarbanel and Mede, 



303 

shew that the prophet does not intend real locusts, but 
symbolical ones. His reasoning is just ; though his appli- 
cation is, I think, wrong. Real locusts do not come from 
the north, but breed in the warm regions of the south *. 
They are used therefore with singular propriety by St. 
John, who (as Mede and Bp. Newton justly observe) has 
borrowed many particulars of his description from Joel, 
to typify the vast armies of the Saracens. In the Apo- 
calypse however the antitypical locusts come, like their 
types, from the south and south-east: consequently the 
Apostle had no occasion to specify the particular quarter 
of the heavens ; that point, nothing being said to the 
contrary, would be sufficiently determined by the natural 
history of the symbol t. But Joel wished to describe a 
horde of rapacious northern invaders under the same 
imagery. Hence both the decorum of the type, and the 
right understanding of the prediction, required, that he 
should particularly specify that the locusts should come 
from the north; thus tacitly, though plainly, insinuating, 
that he meant not any literal locusts. 

Here then Chandler has a fresh difficulty to encounter : 
and in what manner does he endeavour to remove it? 
Kimchi, who like himself supposes the locusts to be lite- 
ral ones, somewhat unthinkingly adopts the natural and 
obvious interpretation of the passage ; and says, that the 
prophet calls the locust the northern one, because it came 
to them from the northern quarter. But this exposition 
is by no means satisfactory, because real locusts do not 
come from the north. Chandler therefore adopts the gloss 
of Bochart, who had before him understood the locusts 
of Joel in a literal sense, and who must also before him 
have felt the refractoriness of this passage. " The north- 

* Speaking- of the remarkable accordance of the apocalyptic locusts with ths 
Saracens, Mr. Daubuz observes, that "the Saracois have made inroads into 
all those parts of Christendom where the natural locusts are wont to be seen 
and known to do mischief, and no where else : and that too in the same pro- 
portion. Where the locusts are seldom seen, there the Saracens stayed little : 
where the natural locusts are often seen, there the Saracens abode most; 
and, inhere they breed most, there the Saracens had their beginning-, and greatest 
power." Mr. Mede observes, like Mr. Daubuz, that the locusts bred much 
in Arabia. 

f In a similar manner, he symbolizes the various irruptions of the northern 
nations by a storm of hail, without specifying from what quarter that storm 
came, because the north is the region of snow and hail. 



304 

em one" says he, " is that part of the locusts, which is 
on the northern side of the city ; and the barren and dry 
land, into which the Lord will drive them, is Arabia 
which lies to the south of Judea, and where they would 
die for want of food." Are we to suppose then, if literal 
locusts be intended, that there were none on the south 
side of the city ? And if, as common sense obliges us to 
conclude no less than the very full and ample description 
of the prophet, there undoubtedly were ; why are those 
6n the northern side alone noticed, while nothing is said 
respecting those on the southern side ? Nor is this all : 
the two seas, as both Bochart, Kimchi, and Chandler, 
allow, are the dead sea * and the Mediterranean sea. 
How then could the locusts be between these two seas, 
if they were driven far into the desarts of Arabia \ ? In 
short, I can consider such an interpretation in no other 
light than that of a mere struggle to get quit of a diffi- 
culty. The northern one is evidently a sweeping expres- 
sion, denoting either the king of the locusts at the head 
of his armies, or the whole body of the locusts themselves. 
And I am persuaded, that any one, who reads the pas- 
sage unbiassed by system, will conclude, that the north- 
ern locusts, which lay waste the whole land of Judea, are 
certain locusts, which come out of the north ; and that, 
when he recollects that locusts are ordinarily bred in the 
south, he will say with Jerome, that the epithet northern 
is added to shew that the prophet did not intend real 
locusts. 

Supposing then that the locusts, caterpillers, canker- 
worms, and palmer- worms, which composed the vast 
army described by Joel, are to be understood, not literal- 
ly, but symbolically ; the next point to be considered is 

* Kimchi thinks, perhaps also the lake of Genncsareth. 

f The land barren and desolate is certainly the land between the seas, or 
Palestine ; not Arabia. This land had been made barren and desolate by the 
ravages of the locust-army. The removi?ig to a distance must be taken in a 
qualified and limited sense ; for the place, to which the symbolical locusts 
are to be removed, is between the seas of Palestine, no less than the glorious 
holy mountain itself (compare Dan. xi. 45.). We learn from St. John, that 
this place is Megiddo, descriptively termed by Joel the valley of the Lord^s 
judgment ; which is about forty miles from Jerusalem, °nd which, though it 
may be considered as lying between the dead sea and the Mediterranean, is 
(to speak with more geographical accuracy) situate between the Mediterra- 
nean and the sea of Gennesareth. 



305 

the period to which we are to assign this tremendous 
invasion of Judea. Grotius thinks, as we have seen, that 
the successive invasions of Phul, Tigiathphilasar, Salma- 
nasar, and Sennacherib, are intended *. St. Jerome sup- 
poses, that the Chaldeans and iVssyrians are the sym- 
bolical locust-army. Mr. Mede adopts the opinion of 
Jerome f. Abarbanel conjectures, that not only the Chal- 
deans, who carried away the ten tribes, are meant ; but 
likewise the Babylonians, who destroyed the first temple, 
and the Romans, who destroyed the second J. Kimchi 
observes, that some of the Rabbies expound the verse, 
in which the destruction of the locust-army is foretold, 
as relating to the days of the Messiah : and he thinks, 
that the Chaldee Paraphrast interprets the locusts to mean 
princes, and people, and kingdoms, because he apprehend- 
ed that these things were to come to pass in the days 
of the Messiah §. The last of these opinions, provided 
we understand the days of the second advent, is, I believe, 
the true one. As for the others, I cannot discover, that 
any one of them at all accords with the prophecy, except- 
ing perhaps that which applies it to the invasion and 

* I think him no less wrong in this part of his opinion, than in his appli- 
cation of the prophecy to a period clnring' which ^udah was existing- as a 
kingdom. These four trihes of animals are plainly represented as com- 
posing only one army, the different divisions of widely, after they have 
jointly entered Palestine, spread themselves over the face of the whole 
country, and rival each other in mischievousness and rapacity. " That which 
the palmer-worm hath left, hath the locust eaten ; and that which the locust 
hath left, hath the canker-worm eaten ; and that which the canker-worm 
hath left, hath the caterpiller eaten — A lire devoureth before them ; and 
behind them a flame burneth : the land is as the garden of Eden before 
them, and behind them a desolate wilderness ; yea, and nothing shall escape 
them." The ravages of a hostile army, sometimes advancing in one great 
body, and sometimes dividing itself into detachments, could not have been 
painted more to the life. There cannot be a better comment upon the pro- 
phecy than the conduct of the locusts of Antichrist in the course of their 
various campaigns. Every part of the European continent within their reach 
has been plundered and laid waste by them. They have been uniformly sub- 
sisted at the expense of the wretched inhabitants. And I doubt not, when- 
ever their appointed time for invading Palestine shall arrive, that the same 
deeds of havock and barbarity will be there also re-acted. Could the poet, 
who wished to describe the universal conduct of the French, have pitched 
upon more apposite images to symbolize those barbarians, than locusts, catcr- 
piliers, canker-worms, and palmer -worms ? See my Dissert, on the 1260 years. 
Vol. ii. p. 331. (2d edit. p. 367.). 

f Comment. Apoc. p. 467. 

i Boch. Hieroz. P. i. L. iv. C 5. p. 430. 

§ The reader will find all these authors cited by Chandler himself, except 
Mede and Abarbanel, to whom I have therefore given references. 

39 



'306 

destruction of Sennacherib. It is to be observed, that 
Joel does not merely foretell an invasion , but likewise the 
destruction of the invaders; and that too in a region which 
he very particularly specifies, the land of Palestine be- 
tween the eastern sea and the western sea. Now the Chal- 
deans, who carried away the ten tribes, were successful in 
their enterprize, instead of experiencing a total overthrow. 
So likewise w y ere the Babylonians, who destroyed the first 
temple. And so were the Romans, who destroyed the 
second. None of these perished in Palestine between the 
two seas : how is it possible then that they can be meant 
by the locust- army? Sennacherib undoubtedly c//V/ fail in 
his expedition, and his army was miraculously destroyed 
near Libnah * which is situated between the two seas : I 
am willing moreover to allow, that his overthrow may be 
considered as the type of the yet future overthrow of 
Antichrist in the same bismarine region, though not pre- 
cisely in the same place : but I think it sufficiently evident, 
that the prophecy can only have received a sort of inchoate 
accomplishment in that event, even granting that it at 
all relates to it, which is by no means clearly certain. 
Joel himself fixes the accomplishment of the whole of 
his prophecy to a certain era, which he calls the great 
day of the Lord, All things contained in it are to come 
to pass either immediately before this great day, or in 
this great day. He beholds the approach of the locust- 
army ; and exclaims, Alas for the day ! for the day of 
the Lord is at hand\. He sees them commence their 
wild career of havock ? and occasion tremendous revo- 
lutions in the political heavens ; and again exclaims, 
The day of the Lord is great and very terrible J. He 
briefly touches upon their destruction between the two 
$eas„ and predicts the subsequent happy state of Israel 
both in temporals and spirituals ; and declares, that those 
revolutions shall take place before the great and terrible 
day of the Lord come §. Lastly, when calling together 
the multitudes of the nations to the valley of judgment 
he declares that the day of the Lord in that valley is 
near ; and that it shall be marked, not only by another 

'• 2 Kings xix. & f Joel i. 15. 

•> Joel ii. 1% § Joel ii. 10, 20, 23, 28, 31. 



307 

and most awful revolution, a revolution about to be 
experienced in their turn by the causers of revolutions, 
but likewise by the roaring of the Lord out of Zion, by 
his dwelling in his holy mountain, by his suffering hostile 
strangers no more to pass through Jerusalem, and by his 
conferring upon his people every kind of blessing *. It 
is evident therefore, that the great day of the Lord must, 
as it is used by Joel, mean the period in xvhich the locust - 
army should be destroyed, and the nations be cut off in the 
valley of concision : and it is further evident from Joel's 
(as it were) anxious repetition of the phrase, that, since 
the locust-army and the army of the nations '-are both to be 
overthrown in the same great day, they must consist of the 
very same persons ; in other words, that the last chapter 
of Joel contains only an enlarged description of the alrea- 
dy mentioned overthrow of the locust-army between the 
two seas. It moreover appears, that the great day of the 
Lord comprehends not only the destruction of the nations, 
but likewise the grant of much temporal and spiritual hap- 
piness to the Jews. 

What period then are we to understand by this great 
day ? Chandler most arbitrarily denies, that the prophet 
uses the term throughout his prediction in the same 
sense ; a denial, to which, according to his scheme, he 
was necessarily led by St. Peter's application of a part of 
the prophecy to the day of pentecostf. Accordingly he 
tells us, that the great day of the Lord, with which the 
locusts are connected, means nothing more than the time 
of calamity and distress which their ravages occasioned ; 
and therefore a day, supposing the locusts to be natural 
ones, long since past: but that the great day of the Lord 
connected with the effusion of the Spirit, means the de- 
struction of Jerusalem by the Romans. In both cases I 
believe him to be mistaken, at least so far mistaken as 
he confines the great day in the second case to the sack- 
ing of Jerusalem. Let the expression mean what it may, 
it is only reasonable to suppose, that Joel, who four times 
uses it in the course of a very short prediction, uses it 
always in the same sense. And, if this be allowed, it 

Joel lii. 1 4—.?t. I- A cts it . 16— ?1 . 



80S- 

will at least follow that the destruction of the locusts can- 
not have taken place during the existence of Judea as a 
kingdom. Maimonides is probably right in thinking, that 
the expression in the abstract denotes any day in which 
God sends a singular or extraordinary punishment *.• but 
I am persuaded that it peculiarly means the two times of 
the first and second advent of the Messiah ; insomuch 
that I am almost inclined to believe, that, whenever it is 
applied to other events, it is only applied to them as be- 
ing typical of those two great times. Malachi uses it to 
describe the first advent \ : and Joel, properly to de- 
scribe the second advent. The one advent however is a 
figure of the other ; and they are both equally denomi- 
nated the great day of the Lord. Hence St. Peter applies 
to the first a prophecy, which properly and ultimately 
belongs to the second %. And hence Bp. Horsley most 
truly observes, that "a far greater proportion of the 
prophecies, even of the Old Testament, than is generally 
imagined, relate to the second advent of our Lord ; that 
few comparatively relate to the first advent by itself, with- 
out reference to the second ; and that of those, that have 
been supposed to be accomplished in the first, many had 
in that only an inchoate accomplishment, and have yet 
to receive their full completion §." 

Joel (for I wish only that he should be his own inter- 
preter) has given us a most decisive mark, whereby we 
may know which of the two advents he is properly treat- 
ing of. He tells us, that the time of God's gathering 
together the nations to the great day of the jLorc/Bhall be 
in the days when he will bring again the captivity of 

* Mor. Nev. L. ii. C. 29. cited by Chandler. f Mai. iv. 5. 

* When this prophecy is applied to the first advent, the signs in the sun 
and moon will relate to the dissolution of the Jewish polity : but I certainly 
think, that it properly relates to the second advent and to the revolutions vjhich 
are to precede and usher it in. Nothing however is more common in prophecy, 
than a sort of double allusion both to the first and second advent ; to the first 
as typical of the secojid. I believe Dr. Gray to be perfectly right in observing, 
that Joel, m this prediction, "foretells the general effusion of the Holy Spirit, 
which was to characterize the Gospel dispensation ; concluding with a strik- 
ing description of the destruction of Jerusalem which followed soon after, 
and punished the Jews for their obstinate rejection of the sacred influence ; 
speaking in terms that, as well as those of our Saviour which resembled 
them, had a double aspect, and referred to a primary and a final dispensation. 
Comp. Joel ii. 30, 31. with Matt. xxiv. 29." Key to the Old Testament, P. 436' 

§ Letter on Isaiah xviii. P. S. 



309 

Judah and Jerusalem. Thus it is manifest, that, since, 
the whole of his prophecy, as he four times carefully tells 
us, relates to the great day of the Lord, it must necessa- 
rily relate, so far as its full completion is concerned, to 
the great day of the second advent; for, at that great day, 
not at the great day of the first advent (lor then they 
were dispersed), the Jews will be restored. This being 
the case, the destruction of the symbolical locust-army 
will take place at the era of the second great day of the 
Lord, the era of the second advent, the era of the restora- 
tion of Judah. But the locust-army is not only to be 
destroyed at this era : it is likewise to be destroyed in 
Palestine between the two seas. Now we are taught by 
Daniel, that the confederacy of the Infidel Jang is to be 
overthrown both at the same era, and in the same bisma- 
rine country*. Hence we necessarily, I think, arrive 
at the conclusion which I have already stated, that the 
locust-army is no other than the army of Antichrist. 

Chandler's exposition of the last chapter of Joel is yet 
more exceptionable than that of the former part of the 
prophecy. He separates it from all that had preceded it, 
notwithstanding Joel firmly binds together in one the 
whole of his prediction, by four times referring us for 
its accomplishment to the great day of the Lord: and 
fancies, that it relates to nothing but a war between Ahaz 
and the Edomites and Philistines, in the course of which 
several of the Jexvs were taken prisoners ; and to some 
subsequent victories of Hezekiah, in consequence of 
which, and of the destruction of Sennacherib's army, 
many of the captives were probably restored to liberty f. 
Thus does he reduce the restoration of Judah and Jeru- 
salem to the mere recovery, and that the only probable 
recovery, of some prisoners of war ; and the magnificent 
description of the overthrow of the nations in the great 

■* Dan. xi. 45. xii. 1. 

f "Probably under the prosperity of Hezekiah 's reign many were restored 
to liberty — The sacred historian takes notice, that after the slaughter of 
Sennacherib's army many brought gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem, and pre- 
sents to Hezekiah king- of Judah — If amongst these offerings there were any 
prisoners and captives, they must have been a vcrv grateful present to this 
religious and virtuous prince."" 



310 

Hay of the Lord to some petty victory of Hezekiah, not 
of sufficient consequence to be particularly mentioned 
by the sacred historian*. Yet this strange interpretation 
of one of the noblest prophecies in Holy Writ he requires 
us to receive in preference to that of R. Kimchi, who 
naturally supposes, that the scattering of Israel among 
the nations and the parting of God's land\ means the 
scattering of the Jews and the partition of Palestine by 
the Romans, and consequently that the bringing again the 
captivity of Judah means his final restoration % . On the 
same principle he attempts to lower all the promises, 
with which the prophecy concludes, to the short-lived 
tranquillity of Jerusalem during the latter part of the 
reign of Hezekiah ; a tranquillity ere long disturbed by 
the captivity of his son Manasseh, and the subsequent 
general Babylonian captivity which put an end to the 
kingdom of Judah, How the divine declaration, that 
Jerusalem should be holy, that hostile strangers § should 
pass through her no more, and that Judah should dwell 
ibr ever, could have been fulfilled in the reign of Heze- 

* " If we take the valley of Jehoshaphat in a literal sense, the prophet fore- 
tells some signal vengeance that should be taken on the Jewish enemies there; 
which, because of the shortness of the history, we may not be so well able to 
point out the exact accomplishment of. It is certain Hezekiah had many 
victories over the neighbouring nations, bat whether any of them happened. 
m this valley is not particularly mentioned." 

f Joel iii. 2. 

I " Kimchi refers this ("the bringing again the captivity of Judah J to the 
days of the Messiah ; and the pouring out of the Spirit (Joel ii. 28.), to the 
days when the captivity of Judah should be brought back, without, as I can 
find, any reason for such an application — Kimchi understands the scattering of 
the Jews, and the partition of the land, of what was done by Titus and his army, 
when they came into the land of Israel. But this seems going much out of 
the way to find out the accomplishment of this prophecy. All that is implied 
is, that the nations mentioned made several incursions into the Jewish ter- 
ritories, seized upon several of their cities and towns, took the inhabitants 
captives, and sold them for slaves." What a singular mode of sinking a 
prophecy, replete with the boldest and most terrific images ! 

§ Chandler himself adopts the obvious exposition of Grotius, that the 
strangers, here mentioned, are hostile strangers. "Jerusalem shall be holi- 
ness, separated to God, and esteemed as under his peculiar protection by the 
stranger or neighbouring nations, who shall therefore no more pass through it ; 
they shall neither besiege, nor take it : or, as Grotius expounds it, they shall 
no more pass through it with a hostile army. This prophecy seems to me 
to have been fulfilled in the time of Hezekiah, when God saved the inhabi- 
tants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib, and from the Jhand of all 
others, and guided them on every side : and when the Lord was with Hfc'ze* 
kiah, and prospered him whithersoever Ire went forth." 



,311 

kiah, when we consider what speedily followed tfiSt 
reign, it is not very easy to conceive*. 



PROPHECY XXXII. 

The dispersion of the Jews, and the occupation of their country by 
foreign invaders — Their restoration and triumph over the mystic 
Edom. 

Amos viii. 11. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord 
God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine 
of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words 
of the Lord. 12. And they shall wander from sea to 
sea, and from the north even to the east ; they shall run 
to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not 
find it. — ix. 4. Though they go into captivity before 
their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it 
shall slay them : and I will set mine eyes upon them for 
evil, and not for good. 5. For the Lord God of Hosts 
toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell 
therein shall mourn: and it shall be come up upon as bij 
a river f, and it shall be laid under water, as by the river 
of Egypt. 6. He that buildeth his chambers in the 
heavens, and foundeth his compact foundation in the 
earth ; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and 
poureth them out upon the face of the earth : Jehovah is 
his name — 8. Behold, the eyes of the Lord are upon the 
sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of 
the earth ; saving only that I will not utterly destroy the 

* Dr. Gray observes, that this prophecy is supposed to relate to the cir- 
cumstances predicted in Ezekiel xxxix. 5 — 11. and Rev. xx. 8,9. (Key, P. 
437.) I fully agree with him, that the Gog and Magog of Ezekiel are the same 
as the Gog and Magog of St. John ; but 1 cannot think, that the prediction oi' 
Joel at all relates to them. It speaks of a formidable confederacy about to be 
destroyed at the era of the restoration of Judah ,• whereas the overthrow of 
Gog and Magog takes place at the end of the millennium. Hence 1 rather 
think, that it relates to the circumstances predicted in Isaiah lxiii. Ezek. xxvii, 
xxviii, xxxv. Dan. xi. 40—45. xii. 1. Rev. xiv. 17—20. xviii, xix. 11—21. and 
many other parallel prophecies. 

\ It shall be come up upon as by a river.'] The land shall be overflowed by 
invading- armies, as completely as Egypt is by the periodical flood of the 
Nile. The same imagery is used by Isaiah." "Whose land rivers have 
spoiled" Isaiah xvfii. 2. 



312 

house of Jacob*, saith the Lord. 9. For k>, I will com 
mand, and I will sift the house of Israel f among all 
nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve ; yet shall not 
the least grain fall upon the earth. 10. All the sinners 
of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The 
evil shall not overtake nor prevent us. 

11. In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David 
that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I 
will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days 
of old. 12. That they may possess the remnant of 
Edom, and of all the nations upon whom my name hath 
been called J, saith the Lord that doeth this. 13. Behold, 
the days come, saith the Lord, that the ploughman shall 
overtake the reaper || ; and the treader of grapes, him that 
soweth seed : and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, 
and all the hills shall melt. 14. And I will bring again 
the captivity of my people Israel <J[ ; and they shall build 
the waste cities, and inhabit them ; and they shall plant 
vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also 
make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15. And I 
will plant them upon their own land, and they shall no 
more be pulled up out of their land which I have given 
them, saith the Lord thy God. 

* The sinful kingdom— the house of Jacob."] There is a manifest and remark- 
able distinction here made between the kingdom and the house. The kingdom 
should be utterly destroyed in both its branches of Israel and Judah : the 
house, whatever calamites might befall it, should be preserved. 

f / mill sift the house of Israel.'] Sowing the house of Israel among the nations 
means, as Bp. Horsley observes, making them the seed of the Church : but sift- 
ing than with a sieve denotes most expressively their dispersion. His Lordship 
is so perfectly right in his observation, that not a single instance, I believe, 
can be produced, in which solving the lwv.se of Israel ever signifies a judgment 
inflicted upon them. 

+ Edom, and of all the nations upon whom my name hath been called.] This 
expression is remarkable, and clearly shews us what kind of nations are 
intended. The mystic Edom, and his confederate nations are not pagans, ignorant 
of the very name of the Lord, but professed worshippers of him. Against 
these nominal and corrupt believers of the Roman Edom the wrath of God is 
denounced in almost every prophecy, that treats of the restoration of the Jevcs. 

IT The days come, that the ploughman shall overtake the reaper.] " This and 
the following verses ought to be understood of the happy state of the Millen- 
nium, which may be supposed to begin after the Jeivs are restored to their 
country- Compare Joel iii. 18." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

U / will bring again the captivity of my people Israel.] " I will restore them 
to their own country, and settle them in it" (Mr. Lowth in loc). Captivity 
is a noun of number meaning a multitude of captives, as in many other places 



313 



COMMENTARY. 



In the beginning of this prophecy, Amos predicts the 
dispersion of Israel ; and foretells, that, in consequence 
of their rejecting the Messiah, there should be among 
them a great famine of true religious instruction. He 
adds, that even in the land of their captivity many of 
them should be slain by the sword ; a declaration woe- 
fully fulfilled in the many persecutions which the Jexus 
have suffered from the sanguinary bigotry of Popery, 
Meanwhile their land shall be overflowed and deluged by 
rivers of foreign invaders, as the Nile overflows the land 
of Egypt. The Persians shall succeed the Romans : the 
Saracens, the Persians ; the western crusaders, the Sara- 
cens ; the Turks, the crusaders ; and last of all, at the 
period of their restoration, the armies of Antichrist shall 
plant their tents in the glorious holy mountain. The 
whole of this is the Lord's doing. Yet, though he will 
utterly destroy the sinful kingdom of Israel, he will not 
utterly destroy the house of Jacob. The civil and eccle- 
siastical polity shall be completely dissolved ; but the 
individuals themselves shall be preserved. These God 
will scatter among all nations, as corn is sifted in a sieve : 
yet, unlike natural corn, not a single grain shall fall to 
the earth. Every grain, distinct from its fellow, shall con- 
tinue flying, as it were, between the earth and the sieve 
of God's wrath, unable to settle upon the ground and 
coalesce into heaps, as is the case with natural corn when 
sifted *. 

Nevertheless, while they are in this scattered and for- 
saken state, the Lord will suddenly raise up the taber- 
nacle of David, and bring again the captivity of IsraeL 

* It might seem at first, that the expression not the least grain shall fall to 
the earth signifies, that every individual should be preserved ; but, when the 
whole imagery is considered, I incline to think that I have adopted the right 
interpretation. Suppose that some miracle prevented the sifted grains of 
wheat from falling to the ground ; they would in that case be carried about 
by every wind, unconnected with each other, and never able to continue long 
in one place. In this wonderful manner God threatens to sift the Jews among 
all nations. The sieve of his wratli shall scatter them : but they shall never, 
like the Normans, the Saxons, and other kindred tribes, that have spread 
themselves .far and wide ; they shall never fall to the ground, and be at rest. 

40 



314 

He will cause them to possess the remnant of the mystic 
Edom which had so long persecuted and afflicted them, 
and of all those nations of mere nominal Christians upon 
whom the name of the Lord had been called in letter 
though not in spirit. He will bless them with wonderful 
prosperity in the land of their fathers ; and will never 
again suffer them to be violently dragged away from it. 
Such are the good things yet in store for Israel, when he 
shall turn unto the Lord his God. 

It is to be observed, that the prophecy is couched in 
general terms, and relates to the house of Joseph no less, 
than to the house of Jitdah. 



PROPHECY XXXIII. 

The certainly of the restoration of Judah and Israel. 

Micah ii. 12. I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of 
thee : I will surely gather the remnant of Israel * : I will 
put them together as the sheep of Bozrah |, as the flock 
in the midst of her fold : they shall make a great noise 
by reason of the multitude of men. 13. He that break - 
eth down is come up before them J : they have broken 
down the wall, and have passed through the gate, and 
have gone out by it : and their king passeth before them, 
even the Lord || at the head of them. 

* I villi surely gather the remnant of Israel.'] *' This promise relates to the 
general restoration of the Jewish nation." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

f I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah. ~\ "God is often styled the 
shepherd of Israel, and his care over his people is compared to that of a shep- 
herd over his flock — Bozrah is a noted place in Idumea, where there were 
large flocks of sheep. Mr. Lowth in loc. 

4 He that breaketh down is come up before them."] " He, that shall break 
the bonds of their captivity, or break through all obstacles that hinder their 
return home— The Jewish commentators generally understand the breaker, 
and their king that follows, of the same person, viz. the Messiah, as may be 
seen in Dr. Pocockupon the place — The words seem parallel to that expres- 
sion of Zechariah (Chap. xii. 8.). As the angel of the Lord before them, or at. 
the head of them. Some of the {fetus indeed, with a little variation, expound 
their king of the Messiah, and the breaker of his forerunner Elijah, as Dr. 
Pocock observes." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

(| Their king— even the Lord.] " The Messiah, who is both their God and 
their king, shall conduct them as their captain and general. Compare Isaiah 
lit. 12. Hos. i. 11." Mr. Lowth in loc. 



315 



COMMENTARY. 



The general restoration of Israel is here predicted, 
under the image of a shepherd gathering together his 
flock into the fold: and an oblique intimation is given, 
which Micah sufficiently explains in the succeeding pro- 
phecy, that he should be made in the hand of the Lord 
an instrument of judgment upon his enemies. He that 
breaketh down is Jehovah the Messiah ; who is repre- 
sented like a general leading on his troops to the work 
of destruction. 



PROPHECY XXXIV. 

The glories of the Millennian church — The mystic birth of the 
Jewish nation — The overthrow of the Antichristian confederacy 
partly by the instrumentality of the Jews — The advent of Christ 
— He protects the now converted Jews, and destroys the mystic 
Assyrian — The instrumentality of the Jews in the conversion of 
the Gentiles. 

Micah iv. 1. And in the end of days it shall come to 

pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be 

\ established in the top of the mountains, and shall be ex- 

Valted above the hills; and the nations shall flow unto it. 

2. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and 
let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the 
house of the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his 
ways, and we will walk in his paths ; for the law shall go 
forth of Z ion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 

3. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke 
strong nations afar off ; and they shall beat their swords 
into plow- shares, and their spears into pruning- hooks : 
nation shall not lift up the sword against nation, neither 
shall they leani war any more. 4. But they shall sit 
every man under his vine and under his fig-tree ; and 
none shall make them afraid. 5. Though all people walk 
every one in the name of his god, yet we will walk in the 
name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. 6. In that 



316 

day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and 
I will gather her that is driven out*, and her that I have 
afflicted: 7. And I will make her that halted a remnant; 
and her that was cast far off, a strong nation f : and the 
Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from hence- 
forth even for ever, 8. And thou, O daughter of the 
flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee 
shall it come, even the first dominion ; the kingdom shall 
come to the daughter of Jerusalem. 

9. Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no 
king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have 
taken thee as a woman in travail. 10. Be in pain, and 
labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman 
in travail : although now thou goest forth out of the city, 
and dwellest in the field, and goest to Babylon ; yet there 
shalt thou be delivered, there shall the Lord redeem thee 
from the hand of thy enemies. 

11. And now many nations are gathered against thee, 
that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon 
Zion. 12. But they know not the thoughts of the Lordi*, 
neither understand they his counsel : for he shall gather 
them as the sheaves into the floor. 13. Arise, and thresh, 
O daughter of Zion : for I will make thine horn iron, 
and I will make thy hoofs brass ; and thou shalt beat in 
pieces many people : and I will devote their gain unto 
the Lord with a curse of utter destruction, and their 
substance unto the Lord of the whole earth, v. 1. Now 
gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops : siege he 
hath laid against us : with a rod they have smitten upon 
the cheek the tribes of Israel §. 

* I viill gather her that is driven out.~\ "This relates to the calling" of the 
yeivs from their several dispersions into the Church." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

| Her that was cast far off a strong ?iation.~] " The Jews, when they return 
from their several dispersions, shall be victorious over all their enemies." 
Mr. Lowth in loc. 

t They know not the thoughts of the Lord."] Antichrist and his followers are 
blindly bent upon accomplishing" their own purposes ; and thus ignorant of 
what is foretold respecting them in Scripture, they rush upon their own 
destruction. Daniel uses language exactly to the same purpose : " None of 
the wicked shall understand ; but the wise shall understand." Dan. xii. 10. 

§ With a rod they have smitten upon the clieek the tribes of Israel."] So the 
t-xx, Ev pec^oit) zr«Tat|»(r<v evrt G-tayovx t«s tyvXcts ra WpxyX : and the Arabic, 
Fusti per anient gcnamfamiliarum Israelis. Both these versions have plainly 
read b;rp and not B9S>. Compare Isaiah ix. 4— xiv. 4, 5, 6— xxx. 31, 32— 



317 

2. But thou, Bethlehem- Ephratah, though thou be 
little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee 
shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel ; 
whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting. 
3. Therefore will he give them up* into the hand of their 
enemies until the time that she which travaileth hath 
brought forth ; then the remnant of his brethren shall 
return unto the children of Israel. 4. And he shall stand 
and feed in the strength of the Lord, in die majesty of 
the name of the Lord his God ; and they shall abide : 
for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. 

5. And this ruler shall be peace unto us, when the 
Assyrian shall come into our landf, and when he shall 
tread down our palaces : and we will raise against him 
seven shepherds and eight anointed menf. 6. And 
they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and 
the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: and he shall 
deliver us from the Assyrian when he cometh into our 
land, and when he treadeth within our borders. 7. And 

Ezek. xx. 37. In the Hebrew, the Syriac, and the Arabic, what is the first 
verse of the fifth chapter of Micah in our version is arranged as the last verse 
of the fourth chapter, agreeably to the plain import of the context. I have 
accordingly supposed the paragraph to end with tiiis verse. 

* Will he give them up.~\ Having rejected the Messiah, they shall no more 
be his people, until the time of their mystic birth, namely their restoration 
and conversion. " God will give up his people into the hands of their enemies, 
or leave them to be exercised with troubles and affliction*, till the appointed 
time of their deliverance cometh, which shall be greater than that from Baby- 
lon. This deliverance— will be fully completed in the general restoration of 
the Jewish nation to be expected in the latter ages." Mr. Lowth in loc 

f When the Assyrian shall come into our landf\ " I take the sense, which. 
Mr. Mede hath given to this passage, to be most agreeable to the scope and 
design of the following part of the chapter. See his Works, p. 796, where 
he expounds the place of the general destruction of some remarkable enem\ 
or enemies to God and his truth, which should come to pass before the con 
summation of all things ; an event foretold in several places of Scripture. This 
enemy is probably called by the name of the Assyrian by Isaiah (chap, xh 
25.), as well as by Micah here." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

$ Seven shepherds — eight anointed men.~\ " Some imagine," says Dr. Gray, 
" that Micah foretells in this prophecy the victories to be obtained by the 
leaders of the Medes and Babylonians who took Nineveh. Others suppose him 
to speak of the seven Maccabees with their eight royal successors, from Aristo- 
bulus to Antigonus." Dr. Gray himself conjectures, that "it may perhaps 
bear a reference to some higher triumph ;" and refers us to Ezek. xxxviii. and 
xxxix. wherein the destruction of Gog and Magog is foretold (Key to O. Test. 
p. 465.). Though I cannot believe that it relates to the %var of Gog and Magog, 
I think him perfectly right in his general idea that the accomplishment of it 
is yet future. All these events are to happen at the era of the restoration of 
the Jews : how then can they, with any degree of proprietv, be referred t» 
limes previous even to the first advent of Christ ? 



318 

the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peo^ 
pie, as the dew from the Lord, as showers upon the 
grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons 
of men. 8. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among 
the nations in the midst of many people as a lion among 
the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks 
of sheep ; who, if he go through, both treadeth down, 
and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. 9. Thine 
hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all 
thine enemies shall be cut off. 

10. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the 
Lord, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of 
thee, and I will destroy thy war- chariots : 11. And I 
will cut off the fortified cities of thy land, and throw 
down all thy strong holds : 12. And I will cut off witch- 
crafts out of thine hand ; and thou shalt have no more 
soothsayers: 13. Thy graven images also will I cut off, 
and thy standing images out of the midst of thee ; and 
thou shalt no more w r orship the work of thine hands : 
14. And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of 
thee ; and I will destroy thy fortified cities. 15. And I 
will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the na- 
tions % such as they have not heard. 

COMMENTARY 

Micah begins this prophecy with predicting, in terms 
similar to a parallel passage in Isaiah f, the glories of the 
millennian kingdom of Christ, 

He declares, that, after God had judged among the 
people, and rebuked the nations, war and destruction 
should be no more; but that every one should dwell 
peaceably with his neighbour. 

He then proceeds to enter into particulars. He fore- 
tells the general restoration of Israel; and, addressing 
himself to the mystic daughter of Zion, he calls upon her 

* I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the nations.] "When I 
have purged my people from their corruptions, I will severely vindicate their 
cause, to the utter destruction of all their unbelieving enemies." Mr. Lawth 
in loc. 

f Isaiah ii. 1—5, 



319 

to be in travail, and to bring forth the mighty multitude 
of her sons #. Though she has long gone out of her 
city, and has been led away captive into the dominions 
of the Roman Babylon^ ; yet even there the Lord will 
convert her and deliver her, and will redeem her from 
the hand of her enemies. 

He next directs our attention to another particular, 
with which the period immediately preceding the Mil- 
lennium will be marked. While the daughter of Zion 
is returning into her own land, many nations, ignorant of 
the counsel of the Lord, shall league themselves against 
her. But this confederacy of Antichrist God will gather 
together to Armageddon J, as sheaves of corn are gather- 
ed into the floor. Then will he call aloud to the daughter 
of Zion to arise and thresh, and to beat in pieces many 
people : then will he make her horn iron, and her hoofs 
brass : then will he devote unto the Lord with a curse of 
utter destruction the substance of those, who have them- 
selves proclaimed an anathema against their opponents. 
Antichrist wars under the pretext of religion. He goeth 
forth, as we learn from Daniel, to devote with a curse 
many to utter destruction. But this curse of extermi- 
nation will be retorted upon himself : and he will perish 
with his assembled multitudes at Megiddo ; which St. 
John, to denote the same circumstance that Micah here 
alludes to, forms into the compound word Armageddon, 
or the cursing to examination at Megiddo. Against this 
enemy, who will lay siege to Jerusalem, who will even 
be permitted to take it, and who will smite with the rod 
of tyrannical oppression the tribes of Israel, the daughter 
of Zion is called upon to gather herself in troops. 

It is now necessary however, that the prophet should 
go back to the times of the first advent, in order to bring 
upon the stage that mighty deliverer who alone is able to 
tread the wine-press of God's indignation. He foretells, 
that, although the goings forth of the Messiah have been 
from everlasting, the place of his earthly nativity should 

* Compare Isaiah xxvi. 17. and lxvi. 7—12. 

f The literal Babylonian captivity can only be meant in an inchoate sense, 
for the daughter of Zion has never yet arisen and threshed her enem'u 
i Rev. xvi. 16. 



320 

be the small town of Bethlehem #. The divine ruler 
cometh to his own, and his own receive him not. 
Therefore will he give them up to be led away captive 
by their enemies, till the time when the daughter of Zion 
shall travail, and bring forth a whole nation at once ; or 
till that mystic birth of the restored Jewish people shall 
take place, which the prophet had already announced f. 
Then shall the remnant of Christ's brethren according to 
the flesh return unto the children of Israel, and form with 
them only one nation. Their once rejected Redeemer 
shall be their king. He shall feed his flock in the strength 
of the Lord. And such shall be the increase of the 
Church in the happy age of the Millennium, that he shall 
be great unto the ends of the earth, and all people shall 
flow unto his holy mountain. 

Messiah however will be revealed, not only to be peace 
unto his people, but likewise to be a terror unto his ene- 
mies. When the mystic Assyrian, the Antichristian head 
of the Roman Babylon, shall enter into the land of Pales- 
tine ; when he shall tread down its palaces, and plant the 
curtains of his tents between the seas in the glorious holy 
mountain : then will the Lord suddenly go forth in his 
anger, and deliver his chosen from the hand of their 
oppressors ; then shall the wilful king come to his end, 
and none shall be able to help him. The tyrant of Baby- 
lon, that shook whole kingdoms, and that made the world 
as a wilderness, shall in his turn feel the avenging arm of 
God. For the Lord will surely break the Assyrian in 
his land, and upon the mountains of Israel tread him 
tinder foot ; so that his yoke shall depart from off the 
sons of Jacob, and his burden from off their shoulders J. 

It appears both from the present prophecy, and from 
others w r liich are parallel to it, that, although the over- 
throw of the Antichristian faction will be chiefly miracu- 
lous, yet it will partly be effected by the instrumentality 

* Tt is not unworthy of notice, that the Chaldee Paraphrast expressly 
applies this prophecy to the Messiah, just as the chief priests and scribes 
(Matt ii. 2—6) rightly interpreted it to Herod. " Et tu, Bethlehem Ephrata.. 
—ex te coram meprodibit Christus." 

f Compare Micah iv. 10. with v. 3. 

i Compare Isaiah xiv. 6, 16, IT, 25, and Comment, on Prophecy % 



321 

of the Jews themselves. The daughter of Zion is to thresh 
and beat in pieces the nations that are assembled against 
her : and the remnant of Jacob is to be in the midst of the 
peoples as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a 
young lion among the flocks of sheep ; treading down 
and tearing in pieces, so that none can deliver *. 

Who are meant by the seven shepherds and the eight 
anointed men, that are represented as going forth to fight 
the battles of Israel, and to waste with the sword the 
land of the figurative Assyrian, it is impossible now to 
determine with any degree of precision, and therefore it 
would be a vain waste of time to indulge in the fruitless- 
ness of conjecture : the accomplishment of the prophecy 
itself can alone explain this part of h\ 

It is worthy of observation, that the remnant of Jacob 
are not only to be in the midst of the nations as a lion 
among the beasts of the forest, and as a young lion among 
the flocks of sheep ; but they are likewise to be in the 
midst of many people as the dew from the Lord, as 
showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor 
waiteth for the sons of men. This accords with those 
prophecies which declare, that the converted Israelites 
will be greatly instrumental in spreading the light of the 
Gospel through distant nations f, and that they will be 
made as it were the seed of the millennian church. Dew 
from the Lord, and showers upon the grass, typify the 
graces and doctrines of the Holy Spirit %. Hence I think, 
that the diffusing of the remnant of Jacob (after their 
restoration and conversion, be it observed) in the midst of 
many people, like dew and gentle showers, must mean 

* " The former verse (Micah v. 7.) described the benefits, which the con- 
verted y&ws should bring- to those Gentiles that were disposed to embrace the 
Gospel : this (ver. 8.) instructs us, how terrible adversaries they will prove 
to such as persist in their enmity to them and to the truth. Comp. Obad. 
18, 19. Zech. xii. 6." Mr. Lowth. in loc. 

f " That remnant," says Mr. Lowth, " shall be the instruments of convert- 
ing- those Gentiles among whom they live ; and thereupon may fitly be repre- 
sented by the dews and rains, which come down from heaven, and are the 
means of making the earth fruitful." 

i " Rain, if not immoderate, and dew, and living water, for the grace? and 
doctrines of the Spirit ; and the deject of rain, for spiritual barrenness" (Sir 
Isaac Newton's Observ. on Dan. p. 19.). "A church is made a wilderness 
and a parched land, when the living waters of the Spirit are withheld." Bp. 
Horslev's Hosea, p. 5. 

41 



322 

precisely the same as the promise, that they should be 
sown among the nations : that is to say, they should be 
the seed of the church ; they should diffuse to the very 
ends of the earth the graces and doctrines of the Holy 
Spirit *. Yet, as the dew and showers tarry not for man, 
nor wait for the sons of men ; so will not the Spirit of 
God always strive with man, nor wait for his acquies- 
cence beyond a certain limited period. In the morning 
of the great day of the Millennium, the converted Israel- 
ites are as dew and gentle rain among the people. As the 
day advances towards noon, the dew and the rain are 
gradually dried up ; and the watered vineyard of the 
Lord is reduced within narrower limits. In the evening, 
as we are taught by Ezekiel and St. John, the daring 
confederacy of Gog and Magog makes its appearance. 

The concluding verses teach us, that, during the hap- 
py period of the Millennium, and after the Lord had 
executed his vengeance upon the nations, all wars and 
tumults should cease. Every fortified city and eveiy 
strong hold should be destroyed f ; the land of Israel 
should be a land of unwalled villages ; the people should 
dwell without walls, and having neither gates nor bars ; 
and the Lord should cut the spear in sunder, and burn 
the chariot in the fire J. With this freedom from war 
there should likewise be a freedom from all idolatry, and 
from every superstitious practice that is an abomination 
to God. The vanities, that have so long bewildered 
erring mortals, should then be abolished ; and true reli- 
gion alone should flourish. 

* See Bp. Horsley's Hosea, p. 9, and my own commentary on Prophecy 
XXVII. XXXII. and XXXIX. in the present work. 

f The meaning 1 of the passage, according to Mr. Lowth, is, " I will afford 
deliverance to my people, not in the ordinary way of" second causes, but im 
mediately by myself; so that they shall not need to trust in the strength of 
their forces, or of their garrisons.** 

* Compare Ezek. xxxviii. 11. and Psalm xlvl 9 



323 



PROPHECY XXXV. 

Lamentation of the dispersed church — A promise of her restoration 
and the overthrow of Antichrist. 

Micah vii. 1. Zion. Woe is me! for I am as when 
they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape glean- 
ings of the vintage * : there is no cluster to eat : my soul 
desireth the first ripe fruit. — 8. Rejoice not against me, 
O mine enemy : when I fall, *I shall arise ; when I sit in 
darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. 9. I will 
bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned 
against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judg- 
ment for me : he will bring me forth to the light, and I 
shall behold his righteousness, 10. Then she that is 
mine enemy f shall see it, and shame shall cover her : 
which said unto me, Where is the Lord thy God? mine 
eyes shall behold her : now shall she be trodden down as 
the mire of the streets. 

11. Jehovah. In the day that thy walls are built, in 
that day shall the decree be removed. 12. In that day 
thy fugitives shall come J from Assyria and the fortified 

* The grape gleanings of the vintage."] Compare Isaiah xxiv. 13. and xvii. 6. 

f She that is mine enemy.'] As the daughter of Zion is the speaker, we must 
suppose that her enemy is the daughter of Babylon. See Psalm cxxxvii. 8, 
This prophecy may primarily relate to the literal Babylonian captivity, hut it 
Will be more amply fulfilled at the period of the yet future restoration of Israel. 
There is a strength of expression in it, which forbids us to limit it to the 
first captivity. 

t Thy fugitives shall come.] Our translators render jo:p -pjj he shall come 
even unto thee, supposing' ny to be a preposition. The words, so far as the 
hare letter of them goes, will undoubtedly bear such a translation : but to my 
own mind at least it conveys no very clear idea. For, since the dialogue is 
carried on between God and the daughter of Zion, and since God is here the 
speaker ; to whom can we refer he shall come except to God? and in that case 
what are we to understand by the passage ? It mig'ht be added, that there 
seems a degree of harshness in supposing God to speak of himself in the 
third person instead of the first. 1 conceive then, that >iy is, not a preposi- 
tion, but a singular masculine noun of number, regularly formed from mj? to 
pass over or to pass aiuay, as *3iy is from roty, '"tB> from m«>< no from rnfl. and 
other similar words. Consequently, as *$& signifies captivity in the sense of 
a multitude of captives, and as nVu signifies removal in the sense of a Jiumber 
of persons removed or transplanted from one country to another ; so, by analogy 
both of grammar and idiom, np will signify a passing away in the si 
a number of people passing away from their own country and becoming fugitives . 
Whence the meaning of yyy will be thy multitude of fugitives ; thai is, Zion\ 
multitude of fugitives, the dispersed Jews and Israelites. The primitive import 



324 

cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from 
sea to sea, and mountain to mountain. 13. For the land 

of my is to pass over, upon, or away ; in which sense it occurs in Job xxviii, 
8, and in Jerem. xxxj. 4 ; where (1 think with Mr. Parkhurst) what is trans- 
lated thou shalt be adorned -with thy tabrets ought rather to have been translated 
thou shalt pass over (i. e. thou shalt trip along" the path) with thy tabrets. This 
both accords with the next clause thou shalt go forth in the dances, and with 
the nature of the tabret itself, which is certainly no part of ornamental dress. 
Such being the primitive signification of mj?> it easily, according to the genius 
of the Hebrew language, acquired transitively the sense of causing to pass 
over or upon the body, putting on, clothing oneself. When iiy is derived from it 
in this secondary and acquired signification, it then naturally denotes an 
ornament.- whereas the plural noun D^y, being derived from it in its pri- 
mary or original signification, bears the directly opposite sense of filthy 
rags, that is, rags fit only to be thrown away, to be scattered to the winds and 
the weather. In a similar manner, the original signification of the root still 
being kept in view, o^y will mean a multitude of fugitives from rny to pass 
away, as sag> means a multitude of captives from naty to carry away captive. 
The primitive import of the root seems, in the progress of the Hebrew lan- 
guage, to have been almost superseded by its secondary signification, in 
which it occurs much more frequently than in its primary : but, in the Chal- 
dee dialect, the primary signification appears to have been most retained, in 
which the word perpetually occurs throughout the book of Daniel. It may 
not be amiss, to observe, that the margin of our bibles refers us, for the better 
understanding of this passage, to Isaiah xi. 16. xix. 23. and xxvii. 13. in all of 
which the persons, who came from Assyria, are not God, but the fugitive Jews* 
The Chaldee paraphrast interprets it precisely in the same manner as myself. 
" Illo tempore congregabuntur transmigrationes ex Assur et civitatibus forti- 
tudinis." The Syriac version likewise conveys the same idea. " Dies est, 
quotempus tuum yeniat redeundi ab Assyria et ab urbibus mun;tis." The lxx 
must have translated from a very corrupt copy. Instead of -piy, they have 
read yty> for their version is «/ -zroXsts c-y. 

Mr. Parkhurst ingeniously, but perhaps not very judiciously, refines upon 
the text (Isaiah lxiv. 6.), where the plural word any occurs. He would 
translate it, We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses as a gar- 
ment of ornaments, or an ornamental shewy garment, gaudy perhaps in the 
sight of men, but hypocritical, and covering a corrupt heart. 1 scruple not 
to say, that I much prefer the common version, a garment of filthy rags; or, 
as Piuxtorf well translates Qi*iy with reference to the primitive meaning of 
its root, Remotiones ; res inquinatoe et abominabiles, qua: removentur et abji- 
eiuntur. The lxx render it pocKoq ci7roitoi,&y)u,m<i, pannus mulieris remotse sive 
seorsirn sedentisj nempe propter impuritatem menstrualem, still however 
preserving the original idea of the root. Hebrew poetry delights in the anti- 
thesis of the second clause of a verse to the first. Now the antithesis 
to an unclean thing is surely not an ornamental garment, but a garment of 
rags so filthy that they are meet only to be thrown away. The import of the pas- 
sage is, that we must acknowledge ourselves to be unclean, and cast away 
all our deeds of righteousness, in point of dependence upon their merits for 
our salvation, as we would throw from us with loathing the most filth v and 
abominable rags. See the judicious Hooker's Discourse of Justification, 
Sect. 7. and 21. The two expressions of his to which I particularly refer are 
these j "the little fruit which we have in holiness, it is, God knoweth, cor* 
rufif and unsound " and " to name merits then is to lay their souls upon the 
rack, the memory of their own deeds is loathsome unto them, they forsake all 
{kings %vherein they have put anv trust or confidence." I know not anv better 
commentary on the text m question, 



325 

hath been desolate* because of its inhabitants f, for the 
fruit of their doings. 

14. Zion. Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of 
thine heritage which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the 
midst of Carmel : let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, 
as in the days of old f. 

15. Jehovah. According to the days of thy coming 
out of the land of Egypt $ will I shew unto them || mar- 
vellous things. 16. The nations shall see, and shall be 
confounded at all their mighty : they shall lay their hand 
upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. 17. They 
shall lick the dust like a serpent ; they shall move out 
of their holes like worms of the earth. 

Zion. They shall be afraid of the Lord our God, and 
shall fear because of thee. 18. Who is a God like unto 
thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the trans- 
gression of the remnant of his heritage** ? He retaineth 

* The land hath been desolate.'] So the context shews, that nrrrn ought to 
be rendered, not shall be. 

f Desolate because of its inhabitants.] "The words import, that the gene- 
ral restoration of the Jews shall not be brought to pass till after their land hath 
lain desolate for some ages, as a testimouy of God's displeasure against its 
ancient inhabitants for their sins, especially that heinous one of rejecting the 
Messiah." Mr. Lowth in Ioc. 

t Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.] " The expres- 
sions denote, that the Jews shall enjoy full and free possession of their land 
after their return to it, with the same security and happiness, with which 
they possessed it in their most flourishing state under the reigns of David 
and Solomon. Compare Zech. x. 10." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

§ According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egvpt.] " The words 
are an answer to the prayer in the foregoing verse; wherein God tells the 
daughter of Zion, that the wonders he will perform in bringing back his peo- 
ple into their own country shall be as conspicuous as those which he shewed 
in their deliverance out of Egypt, and giving them the first possession of it." 
Mr. Lowth in loc. Compare Isaiah xi. 16. 

(f Iivillshexv unto them.] The original word is, I will shew unto him t that 
is, the singular masculine noun of number *hj? the multitude of fugitives. The 
genius of our language, and the manner in which 1 had translated -ny, ''equire, 
that I should here render the original plurally, not singularly. The Hebrew 
student will find a continued use of singular verbs and pronouns in reference 
to the plural word nations considered collectively, in Isaiah v. 26---30 Our 
translators have sensibly rendered them all plurally. Other similar passages 
might without much difficulty be adduced. 

Tf The nations shall see, and shall be confounded at all their might.] " The 
heathen shall feel the same confusion as men do under a great disappoint- 
ment, when they shall see that power and toree defeated, which they had 
gathered together to oppose God s people, and hinder them from enjoying 
the quiet possession of their land" (Mr. Lowth in loc). The passage re- 
lates to the overthrow of the Antichristian faction, 

** The remnant of his heritage.] M The remnant of God's heritage are those 
fYetvs, which are reserved to be partakers of the benefits which shall be made 



326 

not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. 
19. He will turn again : he will have compassion upon 
us ; he will subdue our iniquities : and thou wilt cast 
all their iniquities into the depths of the sea. 20. Thou 
wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abra- 
ham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the 
days of old. 

COMMENTARY. 

The form of this prophecy seems to be dramatic : I 
conceive it to be a dialogue between the daughter of Zion 
and the Lord. The afflicted and desolate church of Israel 
bewails her state in the days of her dispersion, comparing 
It to the gathering in of the summer- fruits and the glean- 
ing of the grapes in the vintage, so that no whole cluster 
can be seen, nothing being left except a few straggling 
berries. She looks forward however in hope to the next 
season ; and her soul desireth the first ripe fruit of the 
approaching autumn, when the mystic vine, which now 
appears dry and sapless, shall again exult in its luxuri- 
ance, and be weighed down with the abundance of its 
clusters. Meanwhile she calls upon her enemy, the daugh- 
ter of Babylon , not to rejoice against her and to triumph 
over her ; professing her belief, that, although the indig- 
nation of the Lord presses heavily upon her on account 
of her sins, she shall arise when she falleth, and shall be- 
hold the shame of her enemy. 

God replies, that, in the day when her walls are built, 
the decree of her dispersion shall be far removed : that 
her long-lost sons shall come unto her from Assyria, 
from the utmost regions of the sea, from every fortress, 
from every mountain, from all the countries whither 
they have been scattered : and he adds, that her land has 
lain desolate as a just punishment for the wickedness of 
the inhabitants. 

Encouraged by this gracious promise, the church of 
Israel prays her Lord to feed his people, the flock of his 
heritage, with his rod, as he was wont to do in the days 
of old. 

good to that nation upon their conversion and restoration here spoken of.*' 
Mr. Lowth in loc. 



327 

God returns for answer, that, as he formerly brought 
her up out of the land of Egypt, so will he yet shew 
unto her dispersed children marvellous things : and he 
declares, that the nations, which dare to oppose their re- 
turn and to set themselves in array against the Almighty, 
shall be so humbled, that such as escape in the day of 
his wrath shall lick the dust like serpents, and like 
worms shall scarcely venture to crawl out of their holes. 

The church of Israel, now fully satisfied respecting 
her future restoration, takes up the words of the Lord, 
and exclaims, that they shall surely be afraid of Jehovah 
her God, that they shall fear because of him. She then 
praises him for all his goodness : and expresses her entire 
conviction, that he will perform the oath which he had 
sworn unto her fathers. 



PROPHECY XXXVI. 

The dispersion of the Jews — The sacking of Jerusalem by the 
Romans — The call of the converted Jews — Their triumphant 
settlement in their own land— The destruction of the mystic 
Nineveh — The prevalence of pure religion — The instrumentality 
of some great maritime nation in restoring the Jews. 

Zephaniah i. 2. I will utterly consume all things from 
off the land, saith the Lord. 3. I will consume man and 
beast ; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the 
fishes of the sea ; and the stumbling-blocks with the 
wicked ; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith 
the Lord. 4. I will also stretch out mine hand upon 
Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem ; and I 
will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the 
name of the offerers by fire with the priests ; 5. And 
them that worship the host of heaven upon the house- 
tops. / will cut off both them that worship and swear 
by the Lord, even swear by their king*; 6. And them 

* Their king.~\ Our translators take qsSd to be the proper name of an Idol, 
and therefore read Malcham : but I much prefer the rendering- of the lxx 
rx (Zcariteas avlav, and that of the Latin version of the Arabic per regevh 
suian, supposing- their king to mean Jehovah. Such a translation seems to me 
both more accordant with the context, and more agr^ 



328 

that are turned back from the Lord, and have not sought 
the Lord, nor inquired for him. 

7. Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God : 
for the day of the Lord is at hand, for the Lord hath pre- 
pared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. 8. And it shall 
come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I 
will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all 
such as are clothed in the apparel of strangers *■ 10. And 
it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that 
there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish- gate, and a 
howling from the second city f, and a great crashing 
from the hills J. 11. Howl, ye inhabitants of the valley §, 
for all the Canaanitish people are cut down ; all they 
that bear silver are cut off. 12. And it shall come to pass 
at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, 
and punish the men that are settled on their lees ; that 
say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither 
will he do evil. 13. Therefore their goods shall be- 
come a booty, and their houses a desolation : for they 
have built houses, but they shall not inhabit them ; and 

tion of the two clauses in the original, both of which are emphatically mark- 
ed by an nx. As thus : Both (nNi) them that worship and swear by the Lord, 
even swear by t/ieir king ; and (nso) them that are turned back from the Lord. 

* Clothed in the apparel of stra?igers.] Affecting- the manners and habits of 
Gentiles, the He i 'lent zing party among the Jews. 

f The second city.'] In the whole of this passage, Jerusalem is very graphi- 
cally described. It consisted of two cities ; the old, and the new. One of 
these, in opposition to the other, was called MisKnah or the second city (See 
Well's Geog. of O. and N. Test. Vol. II. P. 23, 24). It was in this second city, 
that Huldah the prophetess dwelt. Our translators have singularly rendered 
it college. See 2 Kings xxii. 14. and 2 Chron. xxxiv. 22. In the first of these 
passages, the lxx merely transcribe the Hebrew word, writing it Moccrevce. 
In the second they do the same, writing it with some little variation Mxrxvxt. 
In the present passage of Zephaniah, they simply translate it citto r-^ dev- 
?e/us, from the second. In a similar manner the Vulgate, asecunda: the Latin 
translation of the Syriac, ab altera .- and the Latin translation of the Arabic, 
e secunda. 

\ A great crashing from the hills.'] " From the mountains of Zion and Mo- 
riah, whereon the temple and the king's palace was built. See 2 Chron. iii. 1." 
Mr. Lowth in loc. 

§ Ye inhabitants of the valley.] Michtash in the Chaldee Targum is rendered 
the brook or torrent of Kedron. This brook was near the fish-gate. The pas- 
sage therefore may relate to t h ose who lived in the valley through which this 
brook flowed. But I am more inclined to think with Castell, that Michtash 
means the valley, which (according to Josephus's description of Jerusalem) 
divided the upper from the lower city. See Joseph. Ant. L. v. C. 4. § 1. Park- 
hurst's Heb. Lex. Vox orun. and Well's Geog. Vol. II. P. 28, 29, 30. and the 
map of Jerusalem at P. 23, 



329 

they have planted vineyards, but shall not drink the wine 
thereof. 

14. The great day of the Lord is near ; it is near, and 
hasteth greatly : the voice of the day of the Lord is bit- 
ter : there the mighty one roareth aloud. 15. That day 
is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of 
wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloomi- 
ness, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16. A day of 
the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities and against 
the high towers. 17. And I will bring distress upon 
men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they 
have sinned against the Lord : and their blood shall be 
poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. 18. Nei- 
ther their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver 
them in the day of the Lord's wrath ; but the whole 
earth shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy : for 
he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that 
dwell in the earth. $ 

ii. 1. Gather yourselves together, yea, gather toge- 
ther, O nation not desired. 2. Before the decree, bring 
forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce 
anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the 
Lord's anger come upon you. 3. Seek ye the Lord, all 
ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; 
seek righteousness, seek meekness : it may be ye shall 
be hid in the day of the Lord's anger. 4. For Gaza shall 
be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation — 5.— O Canaan, 
the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that 
there shall be no inhabitant.— 7. And the coast shall be 
for the remnant of the house of Judah ; they shall feed 
thereupon : in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down 
in the evening : for the Lord their God shall visit them, 
and bring back their captivity * — 9. As I live, saith the 
Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be 
as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah: — 
the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the rem- 
nant of my people shall possess them f — 1L The Lord 

* Their captivity.] A noun of number, meaning-, as elsewhere, the mul- 
titude of their captives. 

f The remnant of my people shall possess them ] Though Mr. Lowth refers 
this passage primarily to the conquests of the Macabees, lie aitows that M this 
and the seventh verse will receive their utmost completion at the £reneral re?- 

42 



330 

will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods 
of the earth; and men shall worship him, everyone from 
his place ; all the isles of the nations. 12. Ye Cuthim 
also, ye shall be slain by my sword. 

13. And he will stretch out his hand against the north, 
and destroy Assyria : and will make Nineveh a desola- 
tion, and dry like a wilderness. 14. And flocks shall lie 
down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations ; 
both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in her upper 
lintels ; their voice shall sing in the windows ; desolation 
shall be in the thresholds : for he shall uncover the cedar- 
Work. 15. This is the exulting city, that dwelt in confi- 
dent security ; that said in her heart, I am she, and there 
is none beside me* How is she become a desolation, a 
place for beasts to lie down in! Every one, that passeth 
by her, shall hiss and wag his hand. iii. 1. Woe to her 
that swelleth with pride, and yet is polluted ! woe to the 
city of the dove ! 2. She obeyed not the voice ; she re- 
ceived not correction ; she trusted not in the Lord ; she 
drew not near to her God. 3. Her princes within her 
are roaring lions ; her judges are wolves of the evening, 
they finish not until the morning. 4. Her prophets are 
licentiously extravagant, hypocritical men : her priests 
have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to 
the law. 5. The just Lord is in the midst of her ; he 
will not do iniquity : morning by morning will he bring 
his judgment to light ; he will not fail : but the unjust 
knowethno shame. 6. I have cut off the nations: their 
towers are desolate : I made their streets waste, that 
none passeth by : their cities are destroyed, so that there 
is no man, that there is none inhabitant. 7. I said, sure- 
ly thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction ; and 
her dwelling-place shall not entirely be cut off, inasmuch 
as I have visited her. Yet they rose early, and corrupted 
all their doings. 

8. Therefore wait ye for me *, saith the Lord, until 
the day that I rise up to the prey : for my determination 

location of the Jewish nation. Those, that then escape and return from their 
Several dispersions, are elsewhere called by the name of the residue and the 
remnant. Compare chap. iii. 13. and Micah iv. 7." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

* Therefore 'wait ye for me.~\ " I exhort the godly among- you to expect th6 
iulfilling of the promises I have made of restoring tiie Jewish nation to my 



331 

is to gather the nations, * to assemble unto me the king- 
doms, to pour upon them my indignation, even all my 
fierce anger ; for all the earth shall be devoured with the 
fire of my jealousy. 

9. But then will I turn unto the peoples a pure religi- 
ous confession f, that they may all call upon the name 
of the Lord, that they may serve him with one consent. 

10. My worshippers, beyond the rivers of CushJ, 
shall conduct, as an offering to me, the daughter of my 
dispersion $. 11. In that day thou shalt not be ashamed 
for all thy doings wherein thou hast transgressed against 
me : for then will I take away out of the midst of thee 
them that exult in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be 
haughty in my holy mountain. 12. I will also leave in. 
the midst of thee a humble and poor people ; and they 
shall trust in the name of the Lord. 13. The remnant of 
Israel shall not do iniquity || , nor speak lies ; neither 
shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth : for 
they shall feed, and lie down ; and none shall make them 
afraid. 14. Sing, O daughter of Zion ; shout, O Israel ; 
be glad, and rejoice with all thy heart, O daughter of 
Jerusalem. 15. The Lord hath taken away thy judg- 
ments; he hath cast out thine enemy : the king oi* Israel, 
the Lord, is in the midst of thee : thou shalt not see evil 

wonted favour in the latter ages of the world : in order to which great crisis, 
I will execute remarkable judgments upon the unbelievers and disobedient." 
Mr. Lovvth in loc. 

* My determination is to gather the nations."] " This may perhaps be meant, 
of the same general summons which Joel speaks of, when the nations shall 
be gathered into the valley of Jehoshaphat" (Mr. Lovvth in loc). Mr. Lovvth, 
as we have already seen, rightly refers the general summons, mentioned by 
Joel, to the last ages and the era of the restoration of the Jews. 

■j" I will turn unto the peoples a pure religious confession.'] " 1 will turn them 
from their idolatry and other wickedness to glorify me with one mind and 
one mouth. The same thing is expressed by speaking the language of Can a ar. 
(Isaiah xix. 18.). This is a blessing reserved for the latter ages, after the 
conversion of the Jews and the Gentiles, when there shall he one Lord, and his 
name one. Zech. xiv. 9." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

\ My worshippers beyond the rivers of Cush.] This passage plainly relates 
to the same people as that described in Isaiah xviii. 1, 7. I have adopted 
Bp. Horsley's translation of it, which I am persuaded is the true one (See 
his letter on Isaiah xviii. p. 102, 103.). Mr Lowth justly refers this passage 
to the restoration of the Jews, though he retains the common translation. • 

§ Dispersio?i."] A noun of number, meaning the dispersed. 

H The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity.] " The remnant of Israel shall 
be holy, the rebels being purged out of them. See Ezek. xx. 38." Mr. Lowth 
ia loe. 



332 

any more. 16. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, 
Fear thou not; and to Zion, Let not thine hands be 
slack. 17. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is 
mighty: he will save; he will rejoice over thee with joy: 
he will rest in his love ; he will joy over thee with sing- 
ing 

19. Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict 
thee : and I will save her that halteth, and gather her 
that was driven out : and I will get them praise and 
fame in every land where they have been put to shame. 
20. At that time, I will bring you again, even in the time 
that I gather you : for I will make you a name and a 
praise among all people of the earth ; when I turn back 
your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord. 

COMMENTARY. 

I wish not to deny, that Zephaniah may be considered 
as here predicting the Babylonian captivity of Judah, the 
sacking of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans , and the destruction 
of the literal Nineveh, together with some of the conquests 
of Nebuchadnezzar * . But I "think, that the whole con- 
text of the prophecy decidedly forbids us to limit it to 
those events ; compels us to believe, that in them it 
received only an inchoate accomplishment ; and directs 
us to look for its ultimate completion to the last disper- 
sion of Judah, to the sacking of Jerusalem by the Ro- 
mans, and to the yet future day in which Antichrist will 
be overthrown and the converted of Judah restored by 
the instrumentality of some great maritime nation. In 
fact, the prophecy contains many matters which must 
be exclusively thus referred : and yet those matters are 
so interwoven into the very body of the prediction, 
that they cannot with any propriety be considered in an 
insulated state. As the inchoate accomplishment of the 
prophecy comes not within the limits of my plan, I 
shall confine myself to what I believe will be its ultimate 
accomplishment ; premising, that Mr. Lowth thinks like 

* See Bp. Newton's Dissert. IX.— Mr. Lowth in loc.—and Dr. Cray's 
Key, p. 482—485. 



333 

myself, that many parts of it are to be referred to the last 
ages for their full completion*. 

The prophet begins with foretelling the captivity of 
the Jews, primarily alluding to the Babylonian captivity, 
but ultimately directing our attention to that into which 
they were led by the Romans. He introduces the Lord 
solemnly declaring, that he will utterly consume all things 
from oft* the land, both man and beast, both fish and fowl ; 
and repeating, as if particularly to engage our notice, that 
he will cut off man from off the la?id]\ The whole of 
this threat plainly denotes, that there should be, what 
another prophet styles, a great forsaking in the midst of 
the land of Judea j. After this general denunciation, the 
Lord proceeds to particulars. He divides the men of 
Judah and Jerusalem into two classes ; and, inasmuch as 
they have both grievously sinned though in very different 
manners, he threatens that he will stretch out his hand 
upon them all. They who worship Baal and the host 
of heaven, turning back from the Lord or apostatizing 
from him, and not seeking and inquiring for him ; and 
they, who worship and swear by the Lord, even swear 
by their king : all these shall alike experience the divine 
vengeance. Hence it is plain, since the worshippers of 
Jehovah are thus involved in one common fate with 
the worshippers of Baal, and since God himself equally 
represents the punishment of both as being a judicial 
infliction, that these worshippers of Jehovah could not 
have worshipped him in spirit and in truth ; but that 
their worship, although untainted with idolatry, was 
nevertheless an abomination unto him. 

This double description exactly accords with the state 
of the Jews in the time of our Lord's first advent. Part 
of them were idolaters ; and part of them, while they 
abhorred idolatry, and worshipped the true God, yet 
made void the law by their traditions, and rejected the 
promised Messiah. The existence of this second class 

* See the preceding notes on the prophecy itself extracted from Mr. 
Lowth's commentary. 

f These words, as well as the whole passage, shew, that a dispersion of 
Judah is here predicted. I cannot, with Dr. Gray, limit the prophecy to 
the mere extirpation of idolatry by Josiah. 

± Isaiah vi. 12. 



334 

requires Ho proof; and, as for the first, " It is said in- 
deed, that, after the return from Babylon, the Jews scru- 
pulously avoided idolatry, and have continued untainted 
with it to this day. But, generally as this is asserted 
by all commentators, one after another, it is not true. 
Among the restored Jews there was indeed no public 
idolatry, patronized by the government, as there had 
been in times before the captivity, particularly in the 
reign of Ahaz. But, from the time of Antiochus Epi- 
phanes to the last moments of the Jewish polity, there 
was a numerous and powerful faction, which in every- 
thing affected the Greek manners ; and this Hellenising 
party were idolaters to a man #." Both these classes 
are equally threatened by the Lord, and were equally 
carried away captive, when his righteous judgment cut 
off man, that is the whole multitude of the people, from 
off the land. 

From this description of the state of the Jews at the 
era of their dispersion by the Romans, Zephaniah pro- 
ceeds to foretell the sacking of Jerusalem by Titus. And 
first he announces, that he is about to treat of the great 
sacrifice, and the great day, of the Lord. In the prophe- 
tic language, a sacrifice is very frequently used to typify 
a, great slaughter ; and by the day of the Lord we are 
generally to understand the day either of the first or second 
advent. Here the day of the first advent is intended, 
which is considered as including within itself the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem and the overthrow of the Jewish polity 
by the Romans f. Zephaniah declares, that at that time 
there shall be a cry from the fish- gate, and a great crash- 
ing from the hills, and a howling from that part of Jeru- 
salem which was called Mishnah or the second city : that 
those, who dwelt in the valley or deep glen which divides 
the upper city from the lower city shall howl, inasmuch 
as the metaphorical Canaanites or the idolatrous Hellenists 
are cut off J : that the Lord will search Jerusalem w T ith 

* Bp. Horsley's Hosea, p. 8. 

f See Matt, xxiv. 15—28. I have already observed, that, when the pro- 
phecy is considered as primarily relating- to the Babylonian captivity, this 
siege of Jerusalem must mean its siege by the Chaldeans. 

+ " The original reads the people of Canaan, which word signifies a merchant: 
(Hos. xii. 7.) ; but the Chaldee understands it of those who resemble the- 



335 

candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees, 
or the Saducean Jews, who had adopted the Epicurean 
maxim, that God will not do good neither will he do 
evil,* that he does not interfere in the affairs of this world 
but leaves every thing to chance, and that the sacred 
volume itself is little better than a gross imposture : last- 
ly he declares, that they shall be pillaged by the troops 
of that very nation, to the fear of incurring whose dis- 
pleasure they had sacrificed the promised Messiah*; 
and shall behold the houses which they had built, and 
the vineyards which they had planted, become a desola- 
tion. In the great day of the Lord, a day of the trumpet 
and alarm against the fenced cities, neither their silver 
nor their gold shall be able to deliver them ; but they 
shall suffer severe distress, because they have presump- 
tuously sinned against the Most High. 

As the prophecy was, so was its accomplishment. At 
the very time when, as Josephus tells us, it was no un- 
common thing to hear his hardened countrymen ridicule 
the oracles of their ancient prophets, and plunge into all 
the impieties of Saducean infidelity f ; God brought great 
distress upon them, so that they walked like blind men. 
Within they were torn by the madness of civil war; 
without they were pressed by a powerful and unrelenting 
enemy. So that their blood was poured out as dust, and 
their flesh as the dung ; it being computed by their own 
historian Josephus, that eleven hundred thousand perish- 
ed in the siege, besides those who were slain in other 
places J. 

Having foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and the 
dispersion of the Jews, the prophet next calls our atten- 
tion to their restoration and to other matters connected 
with it. He raises his voice on high ; and loudly com- 

Canaanites in their idolatries and corrupt manners : so Judah's mother is 
called an Jlittite, and her father an Amorite, because they did after the works 
of the Canaanites, the ancient inhabitants of the land. Ezek. xvi. 45." Mr. 
Lowth in loc. 

* John xi. 48. 

t K«7ew«7e<7« /w-fv a* zrxg uvjotg Qt(rfux; utOpairuv, eythstjo $e ret Oetct, xoti 
TX$ rm «r ptQylw) 6ecr/u#$ a<r7rej> ccyvpriKUs XcycroViX'; ey^Mvet^ai. Joseph, 
debell Jud. L. iv. C. 6. 

i Joseph.de bell. Jud. I., vi. C. 9. Sect. 5 



336 

mands a nation not desired to gather themselves together, 
ere the decree conceive wrath and bring forth trouble, 
ere the day of the Lord's anger come upon them : he 
exhorts all the meek of the earth to seek the Lord /that 
they may be hid in the day of his fierce anger. By the 
nation not desired I understand the long despised, but at 
length converted Jews ; and by all the meek of the earth, 
both the Jewish converts, and their protectors the mari- 
time nation df faithful xvorshippers. The exhortation of 
the prophet is, that they should hide themselves, that 
they should not presume to interfere in the day of the 
Lord's vengeance, but that they should leave it to him 
to decide his own controversy with the faction of Anti- 
christ #. However he may in an inferior degree employ 
them as instruments t, by the supernatural interference 
of his own right arm he will get himself the victory. 

Previous however to Zephaniah's more fully predict- 
ing these matters, he tells us, that God will destroy the 
Philistines, and give their coast to the remnant of the 
house of Judah : that he will turn the captivity of his 
people, and that in the allegorical evening of their national 
existence they shall lie down in the houses of Ashkelon : 
that they shall spoil Moab and Ammon, and shall take 
their land into their possession : that idolatry shall be 
for ever abolished ; that men shall worship God in all 
the isles of the nations ; and that the Cuthites shall be 
slain by his sword. All these particulars are similarly 
predicted by Isaiah as about to happen at the era of the 
restoration of Israel. The ancient people of God are to 
fly along the coast of the Philistines towards the west ; 
they are to spoil those of the east together. Moab and 
Ammon, or the nations which shall then possess their 
territories J, are to obey them||. The Cushim, or the 
Egyptians who inhabit the banks of the Cushean streams 
of the Nile, are to be delivered into the hand of a fierce 

* It is right to observe, that Mr. Lowth interprets this part of the prophecy 
differently from myself; but the subsequent context induces me to prefer my 
own exposition, more especially since he allows that a part of that context 
will not receive its full completion until the last ages. See his note on Zeph. 
ii. 9. cited above. 

f Zech. xii. 6. Micah iv. 13. 

4= These had escaped out of the hand of Antichrist, Dan. xi. 41" 

<1 Isaiah xi. 14. 



337 

king, to be compelled humbly to attend his footsteps, 
and to be smitten as by the Lord himself*. And, when 
the restoration of Israel is completed, all nations are to 
worship in the holy mountain of Zion f. 

But there is one great enemy of the Lord, one remark- 
able persecutor of the Church, whose destruction at this 
wonderful period is with united voice celebrated by the 
ancient prophets. This great enemy is sometimes mys- 
tically denominated Edom ; at other times, Babylon, or 
Tyre. From Daniel and St. John we learn, that it is the 
fourth beast, or the Roman empire, both ecclesiastical 
and civil, in its last form, or under its last head; that 
is to say, as recent events have shewn, under the civil 
domination of Antichrist united with the spiritual domi- 
nation of the papal man of sin. Zephaniah styles it Ni- 
neveh, which was the capital of the first Assyrian empire: 
and, while he predicts the fate of the literal Nineveh, 
he interweaves with his prophecy various circumstances 
which are only applicable to the mystical Nineveh ; and 
/directs us to look for the final accomplishment of it to 
the day when the nations are gathered together, to the 
day of the Lord^s vengeance, to the day when the daugh- 
ter of his dispersion is brought back by his faithful mari- 
time worshippers beyond the rivers of Cush. 

The beginning of this part of the prophecy, which 
primarily relates to the literal Nineveh, may be compared 
with the opening of the ISth chapter of the Revelation: 
all the rest of it can only relate to the mystical Nineveh. 
I consider the first verse of the 3d chapter of Zephaniah, 
as immediately connected with the last verse of the pre- 
ceding chapter; so immediately indeed, that they ought 
both to be included in the same paragraph : accordingly 
I have thus arranged them in my transcript of the pro- 
phecy. The city, mentioned in the one verse, is, I think, 
the same as the city, mentioned in the other verse : the 
exulting city that -boasts of her superiority over all others 
is the city that swelleth with pride and yet is polluted. 

* See Isaiah xi. 15. xix.4, 20, 22. " He shall have power— over all the 
precious things of Egypt; and the Lubim and the Cushim shall be at hie 
steps." Dan. xi. 43. 

f Isaiah ii. 1—5. et alibi. 

43 



338 

Our translators have indeed supposed, that the city, men- 
tioned in the third chapter, is Jerusalem : but the whole 
context of the prophecy seems to me to shew, that Nine- 
veh, not Jerusalem, is intended. The Holy Spirit is here 
foretelling not the dispersion ofJudah, but his restoration; 
not the downfal of Jerusalem, but of Nineveh and the 
assembled nations. This will sufficiently appear to any 
person, who attentively reads the whole of the third chapter 
in connection with the latter end of the second. Nodiing 
indeed, I am persuaded, could have given rise to such 
an opinion, except the arbitrary division of chapters, and 
the mention of prophets and priests and a sanctuary as 
all appertaining to the polluted city. 

Zephaniah himself however, unless I be greatly mis- 
taken, puts the matter out of all doubt by describing in 
a very remarkable manner the city mentioned in the third 
chapter. Our translators speak of it as the oppressing 
city ; and such no doubt it is : yet neither does this cha- 
racter accord with that of Jerusalem, which was notori- 
ously an oppressed not an oppressing city, a city succes- 
sively oppressed by the iron rod of foreign tyrants ; nor 
does Zephaniah, I apprehend, mean thus to designate it 
in the words which he here uses. He had already repre- 
sented it as a city swelling with pride and deeply polluted, 
a, city exalting itself above all other cities ; whence it 
would appear somewhat tautological and unnecessary to 
style it the oppressing city, which is an idea plainly in- 
volved in what he said before respecting it. Instead 
therefore of the oppressing city, I translate his words the 
city of the dove, and consider them as allusive to a well- 
known object of worship among the Assyrians. And 
in this translation I find myself confirmed by the lxx, 
the Vulgate, and the Latin translations of the Syriac 
and the Arabic ; all of which so understand the original 
word rendered in our version oppressing. None of them 
indeed, except the Latin version of the Syriac, have 
translated the expression quite properly ; for they read 
the city the dove, instead of the city of the dove : but, so 
far as the word itself is concerned, they manifestly under- 
stood it to mean a dove, not oppressive. 

How greatly the dove was venerated by the Assyrians 
is well known to every person in the least degree coiv 



339 

vcrsant with ancient mythology. Diodorus informs us, 
that they worshipped it as a goddess * ; and Semiramis, 
one of their fabulous sovereigns, was reported to have 
been changed into a dove f. She was in fact the sacred 
emblem of the dove itself: whence, according to Athe- 
nagoras, she was worshipped by the Syrians ; and was 
esteemed the daughter of Derceto, and the same as the 
Syrian goddess J. She was likewise the same, in the 
mythology of Syria, as Rhea, Isis, Astarte, and Atarga- 
tis §. In her temple at Hierapolis, her image bore upon 
its head a golden dove ; which the Assyrians themselves 
called Semeion ||, a compound oriental wprd denoting the 
emblem of tiie dove. As the western nations mistook 
the character of Semiramis, and fancied that she was a 
princess, they had a tradition that her standard was d 
dove ; because they found that such was the national in- 
signe of Assyria, the standard of all the Assyrian kings, 
as the eagle was of Rome both republican and imperial^. 
This being the case, the Assyrian empire itself was poeti- 
cally styled the dove; in allusion to its favourite badge** ; 
and accordingly it is thrice mentioned by Jeremiah under 
the name of that very symbol. Speaking of the land of 
Israel being laid waste by the Babylonians, he styles them 

* Ato Kctt Ttfs Aa-Tvpixs Tvp zreptsspxv t/^v a$ $-szv. Diod. Bibl. L. ii. 
p. 107. 

t To "ZefJLtpoc^o^ tiXic, ic, ■xreptf-spKV otTtiwro (Lucian. de dea Syra. Vol. ii. 
p. 885.) Eviot <5f fJLvdoXoyxvTss pcurtv xvnjv yevs^Oxi Tzspis-epoiv (Diod. Bibl. 
L. ii. p. 107.). Diodorus further says, that the person who was supposed to 
have named her, bestowed the appellation Semiramis upon her from Doves : 
ovofix B-ef&evov — xtto rav ■zrepirepav (L. ii. p. 93.). Hence Hesychius informs 
us, that Semiramis signifies a wild pigeon : 'Ze/^ipcc/^n;, -zrepirepx option e&tojvift. 
■See likewise Ovid. Metam. Lib iv. ver. 44—48 : and Athen. Legat. p. 33. 

\ Tjjv ^Bfupaiui ctGxcri Xvpoi — *H S-vyxr-^ tw Atpxems He/Atpx/An; f Joff 
Zvpix S-eos. Athen. Legat. p. 307. 

§ Chron. Pasch.p. 36— Luc. de dea Syra, Vol. ii. p. 885. 

|j KxAeerxt <5e rqtAjjiov kxi vtv* xvtcjv A-rrrvpim (Luc. dc dea Syra :) : not. 
merely by the Greeks, but by the Assyrians themselves. Semeion is Sem- 
Jonah, the name or sign of the dove. 

fl Sigrmm vexilli Semiramidos fuit figura columbae ; quod vexilli signum 
imitati sunt omncs Assyrii reges (David Ganz Chronolog-. L. ii. ad annum 
1958.). After the conquest of Babylon by tlic Assyrians, all the tract of 
country between the Tigris and Euphrates was called Assyria. 

** Our Lord alludes in a similar manner to the Roman ensign, when pre- 
dicting" the siege of Jerusalem by Titus : Wheresoever the carcase is, there <wiil 
the eagles be gathered togct/u-r (Matt. xxiv. 28.). The apocryphal Esdras like 
wise symbolizes the Roman empire, or Daniel's fourth beast, by ar eagle. Sec 
2 Esdras >:i. xii. and particularly xii. 11. 



340 

Jonah or the dove ; which passage is properly rendered by 
the Vulgate, Their land was made a desolation from the face 
of the anger of the dove*. In another place, foretelling 
that the Jews should be restored to their own land, in 
consequence of the downfal of Babylon, he puts these 
words into the mouth of the people, as they are likewise 
properly rendered by the Vulgate : Arise, and let ns go 
again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity \ 
from the face of the sword of the dove f* So again, 
speaking of the overthrow of the Assyrian empire, he 
says ; From the face of the sword of the dove, they (the 
captive Jews) shall turn every one to his people, and every 
one to his own land%> In all these passages Jeremiah 
uses the very same word Jonah or a dove to designate 
the Babylonian or later Assyrian empire, that Zephaniah 
does to describe Nineveh which was the capital city of 
the dove or first Assyrian empire §. And here I think 
we may observe a singular propriety in the name of the 
prophet, who was sent to preach repentance to the Nine- 
vites. Jonah seems rather to be a title than a proper 
name* From the circumstance of the sacred dove being 
accounted oracular by the heathens, their priests and 
prophets were sometimes denominated doves, as at other 
times for the same reason they were denominated ravens || . 
The prophet then, assuming the title of Jonah or the dove, 
calls upon Nineveh, the city of the dove, to repent of her 
iniquities ; and, instead of consulting the false oracle of 

* jerem. xxv. 38. j- Jerem. xlvi. 16. 

if Jerem. 1. 16. 

§ It was probably in allusion to the sacredness of this bird among the Assy- 
Hans, that Hosea uses for a comparison the flight of a dove out of the land of 
Assyria (Hos. xi. 11.). There are still some remains in the East of the ancient 
diluvian veneration of the dove and the fish. "In Mecca there are thousands 
of blue pigeons, which none will affright or abuse, much less kill them ; and 
they are therefore so very tame, that they will pick meat out of one's hand — 
They come in great flocks to the temple, where they are usually fed by the 
pilgrims." The people of Mecca call them the pigeons of the prophet (Pitts 
cited by Harmer, Observ. Vol. iii. p. 57.). In a similar manner Sir John Char- 
din twice mentions the sacred fishes of the East ; and tells us, that an Arme* 
nian Christian, who had ventured to take some of them, was killed on the 
spot. Ibid. p. 5S, 59. 

{] Hence Herodotus, when speaking of two priestesses who came from 
Thebes in Egypt and settled in Dodona, styles them doves. Herod. Hist. L. 
ii. c. 54. 

I am indebted to Mr. Bryant for these remarks on the Assyrian dove. See 
His Anal. Vol. ii. p, 283—320, 



341 

her favourite dove, to attend to the true oracle sent by 
the living God *. 

But I have said enough to shew the propriety with 
which Nineveh is styled the city of the dove ; a title, 
which the decorum of the type required to be conferred 
upon her, although all that is said in the third chapter 
relates, not to the literal, but to the mystical Nineveh. It 
remains to be shewn, how exactly the description an- 
swers to the corrupt communion of the church of Rome. 

The Nineveh then, which according to Zephaniah will 
be destroyed at the era of the restoration ofJudah, is, like 
her type, an exulting city. She dwells in confident 
security ; and boasts, that there is none beside herself. 
Such is the church of Rome. She fancies, that she is the 
only true church, and esteems all without the pale of her 
communion to be heretics. Hence she styles herself the 
catholic church; and applies to her own ecclesiastical po- 
lity the promise made to the true universal church, that 
the gates of hell shall never prevail against it — Nineveh 
swells with pride, and yet is polluted. The church of 
Rome does the same — Nineveh obeyeth not the voice, 
she receiveth not correction. The infatuated church of 
Rome hardens herself against all the judgments of the 
Lord. Unawed by the downfal of the eastern empire, 
she repents not of the work of her hands, that she should 
not worship demons, and idols of gold and silver and 
brass and stone and wood, which can neither see, nor 
hear, nor walk ; neither does she repent of her murders, 
nor of her sorceries, nor of her spiritual fornication, nor 
of her thefts \ — The princes of Ninevah are roaring 
lions, her judges are evening wolves. The princes of the 
Romish communion have been notorious for persecuting 
the faithful. The load of innocent blood presses alike 
upon the houses of Austria, Bourbon, and Savoy. They 
have all, in all their branches, in all their different domi- 

* Mr. Bryant, in a later publication, seems to think that Jonah was so call- 
ed from his being- a semi-idolater, partly worshipping- God, and partly the - 
Jonah or dove : but, in his Analysis, he conceives, and perhaps more justly, 
that this title was bestowed upon him as being- an oracular messenger of the 
Deity to the Ninevites. Compare his Observ. on passa<r^s of Scripture, 
p. 232, with his Anal. Vol. ii. p. 294. 

t Rev. ix. 20, 21. 



342 

nions, been guilty of shedding the blood of the saints and 
martyrs ; they have all been as roaring lions to the sheep 
of Christ's flock ; they have all sold themselves to be 
tools to the harlot church ; none of them have repented 
of the evil of their ways. And what have been the eccle- 
siastical judges of Rome ? Do the merciless and iniqui- 
tous wretches, that preside in the diabolical court of the 
Inquisition, deserve a better name than evening wolves, 
wolves that cease not to devour their prey until the 
morning ? The prophets of Nineveh are licentiously ex- 
travagant, gross hypocrites : her priests have polluted the 
sanctuary, they have done violence to the law. It is plain, 
that this description can only relate to the mystical Nine- 
veh} and with her how accurately does it accord ! — The 
just Lord however is in the midst of Nineveh. So is he 
in the midst of papal Rome by his word and ordinances: 
but no one attendeth to his judgments; the unjust know- 
eth no shame — He will not however destroy Nineveh, till 
enough has been done to rouse her to a sense of her 
condition. Exactly so has it been, and still is, with papal 
Rome. By the instrumentality of a tremendous monster 
of impiety, the great Antichrist of the last days, the na- 
tions in the communion of Rome have been cut off ; their 
towers have been made desolate ; their streets have been 
made waste ; their inhabitants have been slain. Yet do 
we behold any reformation ? The Lord might well say, 
Surely thou wilt fear me, surely thou wilt receive instruc- 
tion, so that thy dwelling place should not be utterly cut off. 
But what has been the event ? They rose up early, and 
corrupted all their doings. To complete her sins, Rome 
became the tool of Antichrist, and lent herself to sanction 
the ambitious tyranny of a vile usurper #. 

* In objection to this interpretation it may perhaps be urged, Why may not 
the city, described in Zephan. iii. 1 — 5, be Jerusalem immediately before its 
destruction by the Romans ; and why may not the 6th and 7th verses relate 
to the dispersion of the Jeivs ? To this I answer ; that the event, predicted 
in the 8th verse, is clearly the gathering' together of the Antichristian faction 
to Jerusalem at the era of the restoration of the Jews, and this gathering 
together is represented as being the consequence, although the judgment of 
God has been long delayed, of the hardened iniquity of the city, which the 
prophet had immediately before described. But the gathering together of 
the Antichristian faction to their destruction is the consequence of the sins of 
the Roman Babylon (see Rev. xvi. 1, 2, 6, 10, 14, 16, 19, and xix. 19, 20, 21.), 
certainly not of ancient Jerusalem •• therefore the city must be the JRoinq?i 



343 

We have read the character of the Roman Nineveh ; 
we must now attend to the prophetic account of her joint 
destruction with her Antichristian colleague, a destruc- 
tion which Zephaniah represents as being contemporary 
with the restoration of the Jews, a destruction therefore 
which plainly shews that we are not here to understand 
the literal Nineveh, The saints may well be supposed to 
be weary at beholding the lengthened tyranny of the har- 
lot church, and to be struck with horror at viewing the 
dreadful impieties and extensive ravages of Antichrist. 
God therefore calls upon them to wait patiently for him, 
until the day that he rises up to the prey. Sooner or later 
that awful day will surely come. Then will the Lord 
gather together the nations, and assemble the kingdoms : 
then will he collect, to the tremendous vintage of his 
wrath, the Roman beast under his last head, his tool the 
false prophet, and the vassal kings that constitute the 
federal members of his empire. He will bring them toge- 
ther into the land of Palestine, to the valley of Megiddo : 
and there will he pour upon them the fierceness of his 
indignation, and devour them with the fire of his jealousy. 

Yet this period of unexampled trouble shall at length 
introduce the happiness of the Millennium. After the 
destruction of his enemies God will turn unto the nations 
a pure religious confession, and cause them all to serve 
him with one consent. 

Meanwhile, obedient to the divine command, some 
powerful maritime nation of faithful worshippers will go 
forth as swift messengers to the scattered of Judah. Un- 
conquered by Antichrist because servants of the living 

Babylon, and not Jerusalem. It may further be remarked, that the notions, 
mentioned plurally in the 6th verse, can scarcely mean the tingle nation of 
the Jews : on the contrary, they seem evidently "to be the same as the 7iatiom 
that are to be gathered together in the 8th verse. After having been cut oil" 
and made desolate by the merciless tyranny of Antichrist, they will at length 
be gathered together by his agency and compelled to embark in his final 
mad crusade. Mr. Lowth thinks that Jerusalem is spoken of in the begin- 
ning of the third chapter, yet he supposes that the 7iations, mentioned in ver. 
6. mean Nineveh and her allies. Such being the case, the context seems to 
me plainly to require that by the city we should understand Nineveh, not 
Jerusalem. Though, like myself, he refers the prophecy primarily to the 
literal Nineveh, yet he thinks very justly that the assembling of the nations, 
mentioned in the 8th verse, is the same as the gathering together of the nation. 
to the valley ofjehoshaphat, predicted in Joel iii. 2, 1? 



344 

God, they will suddenly launch their fleets, and will bring 
an offering unto the holy mountain, even the long-afflict- 
ed daughter of the dispersion. From beyond the Cushan 
streams of the Nile, from the western isles of the Gentiles, 
will their navy rapidly come upon the wings of the wind. 
Then shall the daughter of Judah be no more ashamed: 
for, although the Lord will restore her during a period of 
great tribulation, and will punish such of her children as 
rejoice in their pride and have stayed themselves upon 
the arm of Antichrist rather than upon the arm of God; 
yet will he leave in the midst of her a humble and con- 
trite people who shall trust in his holy name. Then will 
he be her king, so that she shall behold evil no more. 
Then will he undo all that afflict her, and give her praise 
and renown in every land where she hath been put to 
shame. Then will he bring her back from all the ends 
of the earth, and restore her captivity before her eyes. 



PROPHECY XXXVII. 

The various dispersions of Israel by four kingdoms of the Gen- 
tiles—The final restoration and prosperity of the Jews — The 
miraculous overthrow of Antichrist. 

Zechariah i. 12. The angel of the Lord answered and 
said, O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy 
on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which 
thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years ? 
13. And the Lord answered the angel that talked with 
me with good words and comfortable words — 16. Thus 
saith the Lord ; I am returned to Jerusalem with mer- 
cies : my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of 
hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusa- 
lem — 

18. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold, 
four horns. 19. And I said unto the angel that talked 
with me, What be these ? And he answered me, These 
are the horns, which have scattered Judah, Israel, and 
Jerusalem. 20. And the Lord shewed me four artificers. 



345 

21. Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, 
saying, Those were the horns which scattered Judah, so 
that no man did lift up his head : but these are come to 
fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles which 
lifted up the horn over the land of Judah to scatter it. 

ii. 1. I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and be- 
hold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2. Then 
said I, Whither goest thou ? And he said unto me, To 
measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, 
and what is the length thereof. 3. And behold, the angel 
that talked with me went forth, and another angel went 
out to meet him, 4. And said unto him, Run, speak to 
this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall inhabit towns 
without walls for the multitude of men and cattle within 
her *. 5. For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall 
of fire round about her, and will be for glory in the midst 
of her. 6. Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of 
the north, saith the Lord : for I have spread you abroad 
as the four winds of heaven f, saith the Lord. 7. Ho 
Zion, be thou delivered, thou that dweliest with the 
daughter of Babylon. 8. For thus saith the Lord of 
hosts ; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations 
which spoiled you : for he, that toucheth you, toucheth 
the apple of his eye. 9. For behold, I will shake my 
hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their ser- 
vants : and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath 
sent me. 10. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion : 
for lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, 
saith the Lord. 11. And many nations shall be joined 
unto the Lord in that day, and shall be my people : and 
I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalW know 
that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee. 12. And 

* Jerusalem shall inhabit.'] " Jerusalem is here personified under the 
symbol of a woman, by which cities and countries are often figuratively repre- 
sented — Under this character, Jerusalem may be understood to occupy or 
inhabit, not only the houses within her walls, but the open pillages round 
about, on account of her enlarged population. '' Dr. lJlayney's Trans, oi 
Zechar. in ioc. 

| / have spread you abroad as the four winds of heaven.] " As I have scat- 
tered you and your brethren of the ten tribes all the world over, so in due 
time I will gather you from your several dispersions, of which your present 
restoration from Babylon shall be an earnest." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

44 



346 

the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land^, 
and shall choose Jerusalem again. 13. Be silent, O all 
flesh, before the Lord : for he is raised up out of his 
holy habitation. 

COMMENTARY. 

The beginning of this two-fold prophecy relates entirely 
to the 70 years captivity of Judah. The people had now 
returned from Babylon : and Zechariah encourages them 
in the erection of the second temple, by declaring that it 
should be built in Jerusalem. But from this particular 
captivity he immediately passes to a general view of all 
the captivities and persecutions both of Israel and Judah. 
He beholds four horns, which the interpreting angel in- 
forms him denote four kingdoms of the Gentiles, that 
have scattered and afflicted Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. 
To know what four kingdoms are here intended, we 
must consult history. Now the Assyrians led away cap- 
tive the ten tribes. The Babylonians afterwards carried 
away the two remaining tribes of Judah and Benjamin. 
~The Syro-Macedonians most cruelly persecuted them 5 
and Antiochus Epiphanes in particular wreaked his ven- 
geance on Jerusalem ; insomuch that, in the reigns of 
the two first Ptolemies, many of the Jews, as we learn 
from Josephus f , were slaves in Egypt. Lastly, the 
Romans utterly dissolved the Jewish polity, and scattered 
them over the face of the whole earth. These then seem 
to be the four kingdoms, which scatter Israel, Judah, and 
Jerusalem : for" so the prophet, with reference to their 
several afflictions, most accurately distinguishes into three 
divisions the sons of Jacob J. As for the four artificers, 

* The Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, .] "God shall 
give visible tokens, that the land of Judta and its inhabitants are his peculiar 
people— This may perhaps be more fully verified at the general restoration 
of that nation. 5 ' Mr. Lowth in loc. 

f Ant. Jud. Lib. xii. C. 1, 2. 

t The four great empires, as they are usually called, cannot, as it appears 
to me, be intended by the four horns ; because Israel was led into captivity 
previous to the rise of the Babylonian empire properly so called, and because 
the Persians were protectors, not persecutors, of Judah. Yet it is proper to 
observe that the Jews themselves have generally been of opinion, that these 
four horns symbolize the four great empires described in the seventh chapter 
of Daniel. See Dr. Blayney in loc. Mr. Lowth thinks the expression four 



347 

they are plainly allegorical characters : and this part of 
the prophecy merely denotes, that the four persecuting 
horns should be successively broken % 

Having thus sufficiently taught us, that we are to 
understand the rest of his prediction as referring to the 
restoration, not merely of the Jeivs from the 70 years 
captivity, but of both Israel and Judah from the scatter- 
ing both of the Assyrian horn and the Roman horn, Ze- 
chariah next introduces the imagery, so common among 
the prophets, of measuring Jerusalem. An angel is then 
charged to tell him, that Jerusalem shall hereafter over- 
flow with men and with cattle ; and that the Lord will 
be a wall of fire around her, and for glory in the midst 
of her. By this glory I think we can only understand 
the divine Shechinah ; which will be the glory of the 
Millennian church, as it heretofore was of the Levitical 
church \ . At least the subsequent context seems almost 
to compel us to adopt such an opinion. 

Here the Lord raises his voice aloud, and calls to the 
dispersed of Israel to gather themselves together from 
the north, and from the four winds of heaven : from As- 
syria, the dominions of the literal Babylon, through which 
the ten tribes were scattered ; and from the West, the 
dominions of the mystical Babyloji, through which in 
a peculiar manner the two tribes are dispersed. The 

may perhaps be indefinite, signifying their enemies in general among whom 
ihey were dispersed to the four winds of heaven. 

* Dr. Blayney translates the passage in the following manner. " And 
Jehovah shewed me four plowmen. And I said, What conic these to do ? And 
he replied, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that 
no man lifted up his head. And these are come, sharpening their coulter, 
for to use upon the horns of the nations, which lifted up a horn against the 
land of Judah to scatter it." The idea however, so far as the general import 
of the prophecy is concerned, will he the same ; for he supposes the allusion 
to be to plowmen striking the horns ofviischievous oxen with the coulters of' their 
ploughs. 

f I cannot but think that Dr. Blayney lowers the sense of this passage in 
a very unnatural manner, by paraphrasing it to mean nothing more than " I 
■will reside in the midst of her for the purpose of promoting her glory and 
prosperity ." The glory of the Lord, or the Lord the glory, is frequently used 
to denote, what I believe it to denote here, the glorious manifestation of the 
second person of tJie Trinity. See Psalm xxiw 7. Isaiah xl. 5. lx. 1, 2. Malachi 
iv. 2. Ezek. iii. 12. Heb. i. 3. John i. 14. Rom. ix. 4. See Jamieson'S Vindi- 
cation of the doctrine of Scripture. A r ol. i. p. 95. Philo JudeUS styles the 
divine Logos the light of the world and t/ie intellectual sun. See P.ryant on the. 
sentiments -of Philo Judeus, p. 113,203. See also Mr. Lowth on Zechar 
siv. 4. 



348 

Lord of hosts that speaks is the Messiah; who, while he 
solemnly announces his second advent, avows that the 
Lord of hosts, God the Father, hath sent him, thus bear- 
ing an illustrious testimony to his own divinity *. After 
the glory, he declares himself to be sent unto the nations 
that spoiled his ancient people : and now he will shake 
his hand upon them, and cause them in their turn to 
become a spoil to those, whom they had made their ser- 
vants. I have no doubt that the destruction of Antichrist, 
at the period of the restoration ofJudah, is here predicted, 
in exact harmony with the writings of all the otfeer pro- 
phets. After the glory, Christ is sent to take vengeance 
upon the collected nations of his enemies. This glory I 
conceive to be the same, as the glory which Zechariah 
had already mentioned; for the context seems to require, 
that, what the one glory means, the other should likewise 
mean. Subsequent f then to this glory that is to say, 
subsequent to the manifestation of God's glory in the 
midst of Jerusalem, Messiah will shake his hand over 
the vassal allies of Antichrist I know not what infer- 
ence we can draw from this remarkable passage, espe- 
cially when viewed in connection with other parallel pas- 
sages, except the following : that, after the Antichristian 
faction has succeeded in taking Jerusalem, and when its 
armies are upon the full march to Megiddo with a view 
of attacking the dispirited remnant of the Jews and their 
protectors the maritime power, then will the glory of the 
Lord appear in the midst of his holy city ; and, after it 
has thus appeared, Messiah will go forth in his strength 
to tread the wine-press of the mystic Edom. His enemies 
being thus subdued, the whole body of his ancient peo- 

* See Dr. Eveleigh's very clear and satisfactory sermon on this passage. 

f Dr. Blayney gives quite a different sense to the word after, and explains 
the whole passage in a manner altogether unlike that which I have adopted. 
"To send a person after anything," says he, "implies the requisition of his 
services for that particular purpose. When therefore God is said to have sent 
the angel after the glory, he must be understood to have charged him with 
the means of bringing it about. 1 ' The word after sometimes bears such a 
sense in English, and I will not presume so far to set my knowledg-e in com- 
petition with that of the late learned professor as to assert that *viN never 
bears such a sense in Hebrew : but this 1 may safely say, that I do not recol- 
lect to have met with the word thus used elsewhere, nor do either Buxtorf 
or Parkhurst assign to it any such signification. I have adopted in short what 
appears to myself at least the most natural interpretation of the passage. 



349 

pie shall acknowledge that the Lord of hosts hath sent 
him. They shall look upon him whom they have pierced, 
when he cometh, and dwelleth in the midst of them; 
and the daughter of Zion shall sing, and rejoice in the 
presence of her incarnate God. Meanwhile, after the 
destruction of the apostate army, many nations shall be 
joined unto the Lord of hosts. They shall acknowledge 
his divine mission, and walk in his courts. They shall 
be awfully silent before him, when he riseth up out of 
his holy habitation : and every mouth shall be stopped, 
when he inherits Judah his portion, and when he chooses 
Jerusalem again. 



PROPHECY XXXVIII. 

The general restoration of the Jews, and the conversion of the 
Gentiles. 

Zechariah viii. 2. Thus saith the Lord of hosts ; I 
was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and 1 was jea- 
lous for her with great fury. 3. Thus saith the Lord, I 
am returned unto Zion, and I dwell in the midst of Jeru- 
salem : and Jerusalem shall be called, The city of the 
truth ; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, The holy 
mountain. 4. Thus saith the Lord of hosts : There shall 
yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jeru- 
salem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very 
age. 5. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys 
and girls playing in the streets thereof. 6. Thus saith 
the Lord of hosts ; If it be marvellous in the eyes of 
the remnant of this people in these days, should it also 
be marvellous in" mine eyes ? saith the Lord of hosts. 
7. Thus saith the Lord of hosts ; Behold I will save my 
people from the east-country, and from the west-coun- 
try *; 8. And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in 

* I will save my people from the east-country, and from the west-country.'] 
"This denotes the general restoration of the Jewish nation from their several 
dispersions, an event foretold by most of the prophets of the Old Testament. 
The west-country here mentioned hath a particular relation to their present 
dispersion, great numbers of them being- in these latter ages settled in the 
western parts of the world. Mr. Lowth in lor . 



350 

the midst of Jerusalem : and they shall be my people , 
and I will be their God in truth and in righteousness — 
13. And it shall come to pass, that, as ye were a curse 
among the nations, O house of Judah, and house of Isra- 
el * ; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear 
not; let your hands be strong. 14. For thus saith the 
Lord of hosts ; As I thought to punish you, when your 
fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord of hosts, 
and I repented not; 15. So again have I thought in these 
days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Ju- 
dah ; fear ye not — 20. Thus saith the Lord of hosts ; It 
shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and 
the inhabitants of many cities. 21. And the inhabitants 
of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedi- 
ly to pray before the Lord f 5 and to seek the Lord of 
hosts : I will go also. 22. Yea, many people and strong 
nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusa- 
lem, and to pray before the Lord. 23. Thus saith the 
Lord of hosts ; It shall come to pass in those days, that 
ten men out of all the languages of the nations shall take 
hold, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a 
Jew, saying we will go with you : for we have heard 
that God is with you. 

COMMENTARY. 

This prophecy must, I think, be referred to the yet 
future restoration of God's ancient people, and not merely 
to the return of Judah from the Babylonian captivity. 
The following considerations lead me to adopt such an 
opinion. A restoration from the east and the west, which 
was yet future, is promised ; the Jews had already re- 
turned from Babylon, which was only in the north-east. 
The restoration both of the house of Judah and the house 

* O house of Judah, and house of Israel.~] " The mentioning- both Judah 
and Israel, which had been so long separated, shews that both the curse and 
the blessing here spoken of, in its ultimate sense, belongs to the whole body 
of the Jews ; who, as they are a public instance of God's judgments now, so 
shall they hereafter be of his blessings : namely, at the general restoration 
and conversion of that nation, to which several promises in this chapter 
relate." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

f Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord.'] " A prophecy of the gentiles' 
coming into the Church." Mr. Lowth in loc; 



351 

of Israel is predicted : Judah alone returned from Baby- 
lon, with the exception of a few stragglers belonging to 
the other ten tribes. Judah and Israel are conjointly to 
cease to be a curse among the nations : they are still, 
even in the present day, a proverb and a bye -word. Fi- 
nally there is to be a great influx of mighty and strong 
nations to Jerusalem, there to worship the Lord, and to 
seek his face ; they are to acknowledge, that God of a 
truth dwelleth with the Jews ; and so eager are they to 
be to court an intimate communication with the house of 
Jacobs that even ten men of all nations and languages 
shall lay hold of the skirt of a single Jew : this prophecy 
has never yet been accomplished, for it is absurd to sup- 
pose it accomplished in the few gentile proselytes made 
occasionally before the days of the first advent ; and, if 
it be not yet accomplished, we must look for its comple- 
tion in the days of the second advent, agreeably to many 
other predictions to which this is exactly parallel #. 

Such then being the case, we may see the reason why 
it should appear so marvellous in the eyes of the people. 
They had only just been brought back from Babylon , 
and they are presented with a prophecy relative to some 
yet future restoration both of Judah and Israel. They 
do not seem to have considered, that a prediction of this 
nature involved necessarily a prediction of some yet future 
dispersion. Hence it was marvellous in their eyes : but 
should it for that reason be likewise marvellous in the 
eyes of the Lord of hosts ? Their second dispersion by 
the Romans has now long since taken place : and from 
the past we may anticipate, as equally certain, their fu- 
ture restoration along with the house of Israel, both from 
the west- country and from the east- country. 

* See Isaiah ii. 1—5. Ixvi. 12, 19—24, and Micah lv. 1 



352 



PROPHECY XXXIX. 



the instrumentality of Judah in the overthrow of Antichrist — The 
restoration of Joseph— His office of converting the Gentiles— ■ 
The fate of Egypt and Assyria. 

Zechariah x. 3. Mine anger is kindled against the 
shepherds, and I will punish the goats : for the Lord of 
hosts visiteth his flock the house of Judah, and maketh 
them as his goodly horse in the battle. 4. Out of him 
shall go forth a comer, out of him a nail, out of him the 
bow of battle, out of him all that draw near together. 
5. And they shall be as mighty men*, which tread down 
in the mire of the streets in a battle : and they shall 
fight, because the Lord is with them ; and the riders on 
horses shall be confounded. 6. And I will strengthen 
the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph f, 
and I will bring them again to place them: for I will 
have mercy upon them ; and they shall be as though I 
had not cast them off : for I am the Lord their God, 
and will hear them. 7. And they of EphraimJ shall 
be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as 
through wine : yea, their children shall see it, and be 
glad ; their heart shall rejoice in the Lord. 8. I will 
hiss for them, and gather them : for I have redeemed 
them, and they shall increase, as they have increased. 
9. And I will sow them among the people, and they 
shall remember me in far countries ; for they shall live 
with their children, and shall return. 10. I will bring 
them also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them 
out of Assyria ; and I will bring them into the land of 
Gilead and Lebanon; and it shall not suffice for them. 
11. And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and 

* They shall be as mighty men] " This may be understood— of the victo- 
ries, which the yews should obtain over their enemies in the latter times. 
See chap. xii. 6, to which the following' part of the chapter seems to relate." 
Mr. Lowth in loc. 

f Judah — Joseph."] "This promise is probably to be understood of the 
general restoration of the Jewish nation upon their conversion, a subject often, 
treated of by the prophets in the Old Testament, where Judah and Israel are 
spoken of as equal sharers in this blessing-." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

4: They of Ephraim.~\ " Ephraim is equivalent here to the ten tribes, as the. 
house of Joseph is, ver. 6." Mr. Lowth in lor. 



353 

shall smite the waves of the sea, and all the deeps of the 
river shall dry up ; and the pride of Assyria shall be 
brought down, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart 
away. 12. And I will strengthen them in the Lord ; 
and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the 
Lord. 

COMMENTARY. 

Zechariah opens this prophecy with the same imagery 
that Ezekiel had used before him *. The anger of God 
is kindled against the shepherds or governors who had 
so long troubled his people Israel: and he threatens to 
punish the goats, or those apostate Jews who had joined 
the party of Antichrist f ; while he promises in general 
to visit his flock, and to make them as the goodly horse 
in the battle. For this purpose he will bring it to pass, 
that, at the time when the infidel confederacy is over- 
thrown, Judah shall take an active part in the destruction 
of his enemies J. Out of him shall go forth a corner, or 
a chief commander \ ; out of him a nail, or the officers 
next in rank\\ ; out of him the bow of battle, or the arch- 

* Ezek. xxxiv. f Compare Ezek. xxxiv. 17. 

+ Compare Zechar. xii. 2 — 6. 

§ " A community is often expressed by an edifice or building ; and the cor- 
responding parts expressed by tbe same name. Hence, as the largest stones 
or timbers are used in the angles to bind together and strengthen the sides of 
the building, which meet therein as in a common centre ; so the angle or 
corner metaphorically denotes the chief personage in a community, on whom 
its strength and security principally depends. Accordingly we find rnia, pro- 
perly corners, rendered chief in our English version, Judg. xx. 2. 1 Sam. xiv\ 
S8. and in Isaiah xix. 13. they that are the stay ,- in the margin, governors ; and 
by Bp. Lowth, chief pillars. Therefore by rue here may be understood the 
commander in chief. 9 * Dr. Blayney's Zechariah in loc. 

(T " *\rv is properly a nail or pin used to fasten the timbers or parts of a 
building together ; and may therefore serve to denote the officers next in com- 
mand under the chief, by whose means the common soldiers are united, kept 
steady, and in regular order. Bp. Lowth lias two excellent notes on Isaiah 
xxii. 23, 24. in which are stated the use and importance of nails, spikes, or 
wooden pins, and their application to denote persons eminent in station and 
power. Such a nail or pin was Eliakim to be, the support of his family 
and friends ; and such had Shebna been ; but he, it is said, ver. 25, was to 
be removed, cut down, and to fall, so as to involve in his ruin all that depend- 
ed on him. In one of these notes the Bishop cites Ezra ix. 8, Grace hath been 
shewed from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a 
nail in his holy place. That is, says the Bishop, as the margin of our Bible 
explains it, a constant and sure abode. But might it not rather mean, a person 
of wisdom and authoi ity to conduct and steady them, and on whom they might 
lean for support, after that God had brought them once more to his holy 
plac-c f Dr. Blavnev in loc. 

45 



354 

ers* ; out of him all that draw near together \. And- 
the Lord will give them strength to tread down their foes, 
and to fight as mighty men even as the riderson horse- 
back. 

Nor shall Judah alone be restored : God will save like- 
wise the house of 'Joseph , though he appears to have long 
entirely forgotten them. He will hiss for them, and 
gather them : and, after he hath mightily redeemed them, 
he will sow them among the people, and they shall re- 
member him in far countries. He will make them as it 
were the seed of his Millennian church : and cause them 
to be instrumental in spreading the knowledge of his 
truth, to the uttermost parts of the earth J. He will 
bring them moreover out of Egypt, and gather them out 
of Assyria. The figurative sea of Egypt shall then be 
smitten, and the river of Assyria shall be dried up ; or, 
as the prophet himself explains this symbolical imagery, 
the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the 
scepter of Egypt shall depart away. Nevertheless, while 
restoring his ancient people and executing vengeance 
upon his enemies, God will not forget to be gracious. 
Though he will smite Egypt, and give it up for a season 
into the hand of Antichrist ; yet he will smite it only to 
heal it ; for " they shall return to the Lord, and he shall 
be intreated of them, and shall heal them." Assyria 
shall likewise taste his mercy, after he has gathered his 
long lost sheep of the house of Israel from out of the 
midst of her. " In that day shall Israel be the third with 
Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of 
the land ; whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, 
Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of 
my hands, and Israel mine inheritance §." 

* " The bow of battle can only mean the archers in an army." Dr. Blayney 
in loc. 

f " In the house or building" these words would denote the stones of com- 
mon use placed contiguous or in close order one by another. Correspondently in 
the army must be meant the close embodied phalanx, or rnain body of men of 
war advancing on together in regular order to meet the enemy. Accordingly vxi 
frequently signifies to draw nigh* towards an enemy for the purpose of giving 
him battle, and this both with and without rfBrfaifa 'following" it. See Josh. viii. 
11.— 1 Sam. vii. 10.— xvii. 16, 40.— 2 Sam. x. 13.— Jer. xlvi. 3— Joel iii. 9— 
14." Dr. Blayney in loc. 

+ Compare Hoseaii. 23. 

§ Isaiah xix. 22, 24, 25. Compare Isaiah xi. 15, 16, and xxvii. 12, 13, 



355 



PROPHECY XL. 

The miraculous overthrow of the Antichristian confederacy — The 
conversion of certain Jews in Jerusalem — The preservation and 
conversion of the third part of the Antichristian confederacy — 
The previous sacking of Jerusalem by Antichrist — The manifes- 
tation of Messiah to destroy Antichrist — The extermination of 
false religion — The destruction of Antichrist — The prevalence 
of true religion — The nature of the plague, with which the fac- 
tion of Antichrist will be afflicted — The part, which Judah will 
act — The final conversion and prosperity of Judah. 

Zechariah xii. 1 *. The burden of the word of the 
Lord. Concerning Israel saith the Lord, which stretcheth 
forth the heavens, and la) eth the foundation of the earth, 
and formeth the spirit of man within him ; 2. Behold, I 
will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the peo- 
ples round about, even when they t shall be against Judah, 
in the siege against Jerusalem. 3. Even in that day will 
T make Jerusalem a stone of burden unto all the peo- 
ples J : all that burden themselves with it shall be cut 
in pieces, and all the peoples of the earth shall be gather- 
ed together against it. 4. In that day, saith the Lord, I 
will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider 
with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house 
of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with 
blindness. 5. And the governors of Judah shall say in 
their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength 
in the Lord of hosts their God. 6. In that day will I 

* C'hap.<x.n. 1."] Mr Lowth supposes, like myself, that this prophecy relates 
to an invasion of jfudea at the period of the yet future restoration of the yew* , 
but he imagines, what I cannot see the least reason for believing, that the 
invaders will be the Turks. In fact, the Turks will have been overthrown as 
a nation previous to the restoration of the Jems. This I have already shewn 
in my Comment, on Prophecy XXV, and in my Dissert, on the 1260 years, 
Vol. I. p. 388—393. (2d edit.) 

\ They shall be.~\ I take the singular verb n»rr< to relate to the peoples con- 
sidered collectively as one great body. See in the original Isaiah v. 26—30. 
This translation and the exposition consequent upon it seem to me to accord 
better with the context of the prophecy, than those proposed by Dr. Blayncy 

t A stone of burden^ " Jerusalem is here compared to a stone of great 
weight, which, being too heavy for those who attempt to lift it up or remove 
it, falls back upon them, and crushes them to pieces.' , Dr. BJayney in loc 



356 

make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among 
the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf: and they 
shall devour all the peoples round about, on the right 
hand and on the left : and Jerusalem shall be inhabited 
again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. 7. The Lord 
also shall save the tents of Judah * first, that the glory of 
the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitants of 
Jerusalem f, do not magnify themselves against Judah. 
8. In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of 
Jerusalem : and he that is feeble among them at that day 
shall be as David ; and the house of David shall be as 
God, as the angel Jehovah before them. 

9. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will 
seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusa- 
lem, 10. And I will pour upon the house of David, and 
upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and 
of supplications : and they shall look upon him whom 
they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one 
mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for 
him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born. 11. In 
that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as 
the mourning of the vintage- shouting of Rimmon $ in 
the valley of Megiddon. 12. And the land shall mourn, 
every family apart : the family of the house of David 
apart, and their wives apart ; the family of the house of 
Nathan apart, and their wives apart ; 13. The family of 
the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart ; 14. All 
the families that remain, every family apart, and their 
wives apart, xiii, 1. In that day there shall be a foun- 
tain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants 
of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. 2, And it 
shall be in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, I will cut 

* The tents of Judah."] "The body of the Jewish nation, that encamp in 
the open country." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

| The inhabitants of Jerusalem.'] "The people that defendJerusalem from 
within." Mr. Lowth in loc. 

\ The vintage -shouting of Rimmon.] The word *HM"i, or as it is here written 
Tin? signifies loud shouting, either as of men treading grapes, in which sense 
it is used in Isaiah xvi. 10, and Jerem. xxv. 30 ; or as of soldiers encouraging 
pre another to battle, in which sense it is used in Jeremiah li. 14. The second 
signification is plainly borrowed from the first, the treading of the wine-press 
being a constant sciiptural image of the slaughter of a battle. See Parkhurst's 
Heb. Lex. Vox «vw 



357 

off the names of the idols* from the earth, and they shall 
not be mentioned any more ; and also the prophets and 
the unclean spirit will I cause to pass from out of the 
earth. 3. And it shall come to pass, when any one shall 
prophesy any more, that his father and his mother, who 
begat him, shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live, 
because thou hast spoken falshood in the name of the 
Lord : and his father and his mother, who begat him, 
shall thrust him through when he prophesieth. 4. And 
it shall come to pass in that day, the prophets shall be 
ashamed every one of his vision, when he prophesied t ; 
and they shall not w T ear a garment of hair J in order to 
deceive. 5. But he shall say, I am not a prophet, I am a 
man that tilleth the ground ; for a man hath had the pro- 
perty of me§ from my youth. 6. And, when one shall say 
unto him, What are those wounds || in thy hands? then 
he shall say, They are what I inflicted in the house of 
my friends. 

* Idols.'] "Ezekiel, confessedly prophesying of tlie latter times, when Israel 
and jfudah, incorporated again into one nation, shall return into their own 
land, says, to the same effect as Zechariah, Neither shall they defile themselves 
any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with all their 
transgressiofis (Ezek. xxxvii. 23.)---We are taught to expect that the conversion 
of the yews will be followed by a further reformation of the world (Rom. xi". 
15) ; and that the time will come when the kingdoms of this world shall become 
the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ (Rev. xi. 15), and the beast and with 
him the false prophet shall be cast into a lake of fire and brimstone (Rev. xix. 
20)." Dr. Blayney in loc. 

f Of his vision when he prophesied."] "That is, of the extraordinary com- 
munication, which he pretended to have received, when he uttered a pro- 
phecy which he knew to be false." Dr. Blayney. 

* A garment of hair.] " See 2 Kings i. 8. Matt. iii. 4. They shall not 
affect the dress of the old prophets, in order to pass off their impostures." 
Dr. Blayney. 

§ Hath had the property of one.] " Disclaiming all pretensions to the cha- 
racter of a prophet, he shall profess himself to be no other than a plain ordi- 
nary labouring man, employed in husbandry business by those, whose pro- 
perty he had been, quasi adstrictus gltbce, from his youth. Mr. Harmer's 
observations on this passage, which he justly parallels with the declaration 
of Amos, that he was no prophet, nor the son of a prophet, but an herdsman and 
a gatherer of sycamore fruit, go to shew the incompatibility of such active and 
laborious employments with the retired and sedentary life of those, who 
were trained up in the schools or colleges of the prophets, in order to 
qualify themselves for that profession." Dr. Blayney. 

f] Those wounds.] Two ancient usages are clearly alluded to here : " the 
one, that of the idolatrous priests and prophets, who sought to engage the 
attention and favour of their deity by cutting and slashing themselves, as the 
priests of Baal did (1 Kings xviii. 28) ; the other, that of those who cut them- 
selves as a token of their grief and mourning for their deceased relations 
and friends. It appears also from Jer. xlviii. 37, that these cuttings were 
performed on the hands in particular. When therefore the man, now ashamed 
Of his pretensions to prophesy, came to be challenged for those scars that 



358 

7. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against 
the mighty man my neighbour, saith the Lord of hosts. 
Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; for 
I will turn my hands even against the mean ones. 8. And 
it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, 
two parts therein shall be cut off, and die ; but the third 
shall be left therein. 9. And I will bring the third part 
through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, 
and will try them as gold is tried : they shall call on my 
name, and I will hear them : I will say, It is my people ; 
and they shall say, The Lord is my God. 

xiv. 1. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy 
spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 2. For I will 
gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle : and, the 
city shall be taken*, and the houses rifled, and the women 
ravished : and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, 
and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from 
the city. 

were visible on his hands, he would deny them to have proceeded from any 
idolatrous cause, but would have them thought to be marks left by those 
wounds which he gave himself in the house of his relations and friends, in 
the paroxisms of his grief for the loss of them." Dr. Blayney. See also Mr. 
/Lowth in loc. 

' * The city shall be taken."] I cannot but think' the opinion adopted by some, 
that the sackhig of Jerusalem by the Romans is here intended, very incongru- 
ous with the whole tenor of the prophecy. When the city was taken by 
Titus, not merely half of the inhabitants were made captive, and the other 
half left ; but the whole nation was dispersed, insomuch that none were left 
except a few stragglers compared by Isaiah to the gleanings of the vintage. 
So again : immediately after the sacking of Jerusalem, here predicted by 
Zechariah, the Lord will go forth and fight against those very nations which 
had just taken it. Judah likewise will fight against them ; agreeably to the 
former declaration of the prophet, that God would make Jerusalem a cup of 
trembling and a burdensome stone unto all the peoples that had gathered 
themselves together to besiege it. It is superfluous to observe, that no such 
events followed the sacking of Jerusalem by the Romans. In short both the 
whole tenor, and the whole chronology, of the prophecy compel me to sup- 
pose, that Zechariah is here speaking of the same taking of Jerusalem by 
Antichrist, that Daniel so plainly foretells when he declares, that that great 
enemy of God, ere he comes to his end, shall plant the curtains of his tents 
between the seas in the glorious holy mountain. 

"It is impossible," as Dr. Blayney justly observes, "to reconcile these 
words the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city with the state ot 
facts at the time when Jerusalem was taken by the Romans. For at that time 
we are well assured by Josephus who was an eye witness, not only all that 
were in the city were either slain or made captives, but also the city itself 
was razed to the ground, so as to leave no vestige of -an habitation. How 
then could there be a residue not cut off from the city ? And, if there has 
been no capture since, to which these words can be applied, we must look 
forward to futurity for the completion of the prophecy." 



359 

3. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against 
those nations, as when he fighteth in the day of battle. 

4. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount 
of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east : and 
the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof 
toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be 
a very great valley : and half of the mountain shall re- 
move toward the north, and half of it towards the south. 

5. And the valley of the mountains shall be choked up* ; 
(for the valley of the mountains will reach near) and it 
shall be choked up, as it was choked up by the earth- 
quake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah : and the 
Lord shall go, the God of all saints, with thee. 6. And 
it shall come to pass in that day, that there shall not be 
light, but cold and a thick fog f. 7. And there shall be 
one day (known it is unto the Lord J) neither day nor 
night : yet it shall come to pass in the evening time that 
it shall be light. 8. And it shall come to pass in that day, 
that living waters J shall go out from Jerusalem ; half 
of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward 
the hinder sea : in summer and in winter shall it be. 
9. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth. In 
that day the Lord shall be one ; 10. And his name one || 
shall encompass the whole earth, as the plain from Geba 
to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; and sheM shall be raised 

* Choked up.] See Dr. Blayney in loc. 

j Cold and a thick fog. - ] See Dr. Blayney in loc. 

i Known it is unto the Lord.] " This sentence seems to have been inserted 
by way of prolepsis, to the following- effect : — Such a phenomenon, though 
it may appear extraordinary, is however worthy of belief, because revealed 
by God, to whom both the matter and the time is known. So it is said, Acts 
xv. 18, Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world" Dr. 
Blayney in loc. 

§ Living waters."] " By living waters there is good reason to believe are 
meant the gifts and graces of the gospel dispensation. See Isaiah xii. 3.-— xliv. 3. 
— lv. l.---Jer. ii. 13.— Ezek. xlvii. 1, &c— Joel iii. 18.— John iv. 10.— vii. 38, 
39. That these benefits will be diffused more extensively by the restoration 
•f the Jews, is not obscurely intimated, Rom. xi. 15." Dr. Blayney in loc. 

fl His name one.] By the name of Jehovah I conceive to be meant the pro- 
fession of his true religion, which, it is here foretold, should compass or per- 
vade the whole earth, as it had done the country of Judea included within 
the plain extending- from Geba north to Rimmon south of Jerusalem — TMe 
universal propagation of God's name or religion is predicted, as in other places 
of Scripture, so particularly Isaiah lix. 19. — Mal.i. 11." Dr Blayney in loc. 

fl She.] " That is, Jerusalem, which is here, as elsewhere, represented 
as a female figure, raised from the ground, and sitting tranquil on her ancient 
seat." Dr. Blayney in loc. 



360 

up, and sit in her own place, from Benjamin's gate unto 
the place of the first gate, unto the comer- gate, and from 
the tower of Hananeel unto the king's wine-presses. 
11. And men shall dwell in her, and there shall be no 
more utter destruction * ; but Jerusalem shall sit in 
security. 

12. And this shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord 
will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusa- 
lem : their flesh shall consume away, while they stand 
upon their feet ; and their eyes shall consume away in 
their holes ; and their tongue shall consume away in their 
mouth. 13. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a 
^ great tumult from the Lord shall be among them ; and 
they shall lay hold every one of them on the hand of his 
neighbour,, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of 
his neighbour. 14. And Judah also shall fight at Jeru- 
salem : and the wealth of all the nations round about 
shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, 
in great abundance. 15. And so shall be the plague of 
the horse, of the mule, of the camel, of the ass, and of 
all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague. 

16. And it shall come to pass, that every one, that is 
left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem, shall 
go up even from year to year, to worship the King, the 
Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of the tabernacles. 

17. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all 
the families of the earth unto Jerusalem, to worship the 
King the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. 

18. And, if the family of Egypt go not up, and come 
not, although there be not upon them the plague f where- 
with the Lord will smite the nations that come not up to 
keep the feast of tabernacles ; 19. The same shall be the 

* There- shall be no more utter destruction."] " The city shall never be utterly 
destroyed, as it was by the Chaldeans and Romans." Mr. Lowth in loc. 
' + Although there be not upon them the pi ague. ~\ " That is, although they be 
not visited precisely in the same manner as the other nations, namely with a 
want of rain, which of itself would be no punishment to that country where 
by the situation of the country no rain usually falls ; yet, as it follows in the 
next verse, they should not be exempt from the same punishment with the 
other nations that sinned in like manner, namely famine, which would be the 
sure consequence, as Abp. Newcome observes, if the rains did not fall in 
Ethiopia so as to cause an overflowing 1 of the Nile. This interpretation is 
according' to the present reading- of the text, which needs no alteration.'* 
T)r. Blavnev in loc. 



361 

punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the na 
tions, that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles* 

20. In that day shall there be upon the bells of the 
horses, Holiness unto the Lord ; and the pots in the 
Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar* 
21. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be 
holiness unto the Lord of hosts : and all they that sacri- 
fice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein : and 
in that day there shall be no more a trafficker in the house 
of the Lord of hosts #. 

COMMENTARY. 

From this concluding and very minute prophecy of 
Zechariah, we learn several most interesting particulars 
respecting the period of the restoration of Judah \* A 
great confederacy of many nations is to invade Palestine 
and to besiege Jerusalem. This confederacy, when we 
consider the era to which it is assigned, can only be the 
same as that of Daniel's wilful king : in other words, it 

* Every pot— no more a trafficker.'] "The meaning- of this passage seems 
to be, that every thing- in Judah and Jerusalem should be accounted so holy 
and acceptable to God, that the common utensils in their houses might be 
used for the purpose of sacrificing without offence $ so that those who came 
to sacrifice might take and use them indiscriminately; which would effec- 
tually supersede that traffic, which was carried on in the temple for the 
supply of such things as were wanting on those occasions. Our Saviour 
speaks of the traffickers in the temple in his days, whom he drove out, and 
forbad to make his father's house a house of merchandise.*' Dr. Blayney 
in loc. 

f " It is not difficult to perceive," says Dr. Blayney, "that the prophecies 
in this and the two following chapters (Zech. xii. xiii. xiv.) relate to future 
times— But, without pretending to determine precisely concerning the inva* 
ders, the substance of the prophecy in this (Chap, xii.), and on to the seventh 
verse of the next chapter, will be found to amount to this ; that Jerusalem 
will be besieged by a multitude of hostile nations, to the great terror of the 
people in its vicinity, as well as of Judah itself; but that the attempts of 
those nations will be frustrated through the special interposition of the Deity, 
and will terminate in their total discomfiture and ruin, and in the permanent 
peace and prosperity of the victorious Jews. After which the Jews will be 
brought at length to see and lament the sin of their forefathers in putting- 
their Messiah to death j and thereupon will have the means of purification 
and atonement afforded them ; and, being thus cleansed from past guilt, will 
renounce all their former offensive practices, and carefully abstain from a 
future repetition of them" (Dr. Blayney in loc). Dr. Blayney thinks it pro- 
bable, that the combination against judah, here predicted, is the same as that 
of Gog and Magog, foretold by Ezekiel. I differ from him for the reasons 
which I have already abundantly assigned when treating of that remarkable 
prophecy. It clearly appears to me, that the subject of the present predic 
tion is the overthrow of Antichrist* 

46 



362 

is the confederacy predicted by St. John, of which Anti- 
christ, then become the last head of the Roman beast, is 
destined to be the leader. To the armies then of Anti- 
christ, God declares, that he will make Jerusalem a cup 
of trembling and a stone of burden ; and that he will 
smite every horse with astonishment and blindness, and 
his rider with madness. Afterwards however we learn, 
that, notwithstanding the final preservation and victory 
of Judah, Antichrist with his congregated nations shall 
first succeed in making himself master of Jerusalem ; 
where he will conduct himself with his wonted cruelty 
and. profligacy . Half of the inhabitants he will upon this 
occasion make his captives, but the rest of them shall 
not be cut off from the city. And now, while elate with 
victory and breathing vengeance against his remaining 
enemies he is leading his host to the valley of Megiddo, 
suddenly the glory of the Shechinah will appear in the 
midst of Jerusalem #, and the Lord himself will go forth 
to fight against the nations, as when he fighteth in the 
day of battle. Mount Olivet will own its present God f , 
and cleave asunder beneath him. An earthquake will 
announce the descent of the triumphant Messiah ; and 
the king of saints will go forth to war in behalf of his 
ancient people. Then will he suddenly smite with a 
horrible plague all the peoples that have fought against 
Jerusalem, and cause them madly to unsheath every man 
his sword against his neighbour. Judah likewise shall 
fight against them : for in that day the Lord will make 
the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the 
wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall 
devour all the peoples round about, on the right hand 
and on the left. 

Nearly about the same time, and most probably imme- 
diately before the sacking of Jerusalem and the subse- 

* Zeehar.ii. 5, 8. 

f "The glory of the Lord, that is the Shechi?uxh or symbol of God's pre- 
sence, when it departed from the city and temple, settled itself upon the 
mount of Olives (Ezek. xi. 23.). So, when God shall return to Jerusalem, 
and make it the seat of Ids presence again, it shall return by the same way 
it departed (See Ezek. xliii. 2.). We may add, that, when our Lord ascended 
from the mount of Olives,, the ang-els told his disciples, he should come again 
in like ma?iner 1 th&t is, in a visible and glorious appearance at the same place ' 
Mr. Lowth in loc. 



363 

quent destruction of the nations, such of the Jews as had 
been restored by Antichrist, and placed in the capital of 
Palestine, will be converted to the faith. They will look 
upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn for him 
as one that mourneth for an only son. This conversion to 
protestant Christianity, and consequent dereliction of the 
cause of Antichrist, is in tact the only reason that can be 
assigned for his turning his arms against his late allies. 
We may collect from Daniel, that, after he had settled 
them in Jerusalem, and while he was engaged in the 
conquest of Egypt, suddenly he hears from the north and 
from the east (as he would do, supposing him to be then 
in Egypt) the unpleasant tidings of the landing of the 
great maritime power with the converted Jews, and of the 
penitence and defection of those whom he had himself 
restored in an unconverted state. Enraged at the intel- 
ligence, he goes forth menacing utter destruction to all 
his opponents: and, as Zechariah similarly predicts, he 
plants the curtains of his tents between the seas in the 
glorious holy mountain ; or, in other words, he besieges 
and takes Jerusalem *. Then, and not till then, he shall 
come to his end, and none shall help him. 

Here it must be observed, that Zechariah very re- 
markably divides the restored of Judah into two parts ; 
styling the one the tents of Judah, and the other the house 
of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and he asserts, 
that the Lord shall save the tents of Judah first f. After- 
wards he proceeds to describe the conversion of the house 
of David and Jerusalem, as taking place subsequently to 
their restoration. Judah in tents then is placed in contra- 
distinction to Judah in Jerusalem ; Judah the first saved 
by the Lord, to Judah not brought to salvation till after- 
wards. This exactly accords with the opinion, which 
I have more than once had occasion to- advance : that 
part of the Jews will be restored, in a converted state, by 

* Compare Dan. xi. 41— -45, where the route of Antichrist is very minutely 
described. 

f " The meaning 1 here is, that Cod would save the tents of Judah first, or 
previously to any other; and for this the reason immediately follows, that 
the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem might not be tempted to 
value themselves too Vig-hly on the preference given to them (supposing that 
had been the case) above the rest of Judah." Dr. Blayney in loc. 



364 

the great maritime power ; and part, in an unconverted 
state, by .Antichrist. The converted Jews are described 
as being in tents ; because they are attached to the army 
of the maritime power, and have not yet acquired a per- 
manent settlement : while the unconverted Jews, whose 
conversion in their own country Zechariah foretells in 
the present prophecy, are said to be dwelling in Jerusa- 
lem, Here they are besieged by Antichrist ; and, as a 
just punishment for their former impiety, several of them, 
so far as this world is concerned, are suffered to perish. 
Such a fate precisely agrees with the many predictions, 
which very explicitly declare, that the Jews shall return 
-In a time of great trouble, and shall be made severely to 
suffer in the course of their restoration *. In short, these 
two divisions of Judah are clearly those two divisions of 
the flock, which Ezekiel calls the sheep and the goats f. 
The overthrow of Antichrist, as I have repeatedly had 
occasion to observe, will take place in Palestine, or the 

* .Terem. xxx. 1—17. Ezek. xx. 33—38. 

f See Ezekiel xxxiv. In the first edition of my Dissertation on the 1260 
years, I was right in asserting-, that this passage plainly taught us to expect 
a twofold restoration of the Jews ; but at that time 1 had by no means a clear 
conception of the precise meaning of it. Hence I mistook the import of the 
expression "the Lord shall save the tents of Judah first;" supposing it to 
denote, that the division called Judah should be restored previous to the re- 
storation of the other division called the house of David and the inhabitants of 
'Jerusalem: but, how the one was to be distinguished from the other, 1 could 
fjot then conceive ; being aware from their description, that both the divisions 
must be composed of Jews properly so called. 1 readily acknowledge, that, 
when that work was first published, I did not entertain the slightest sus- 
picion that the house of Israel would ever be restored separately from the 
house of Judah, and that afterwards the two would coalesce into one king- 
dom. Taking up the common notion, that the ten tribes are irrecoverably lost 
excepting such individuals as returned from Babylon with Judah, I had a con- 
fused idea, that all those prophecies, which speak of the restoration both of 
Judah and Ephraim, meant that of Ephraim only as included in that of Judah. 
A more exact, laborious, and connected, view of the subject has now led me 
to adopt a very different opinion Not that the present passage of Zechariah 
relates to the twofold restoration of Judah and Ephraim : in supposing it to 
relate to a two-fold restoration of Judah only, I was perfectly right ; but I erred 
in fancying it to relate to a two-fold successive restoration of Judah. I am 
now convinced, that it predicts a two-fold contemporaneous restoration of 
Judah, previous to the subsequent restoration of Israel : the one divisio?i of 
Judah, accurately denominated the tents of Judah, will be first brought to 
salvation, being restored in a converted state by the great maritime power ; 
the other division of Judah, no less accurately denominated the house of David 
and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, will afterwards be brought to salvation, 
being restored in an unconverted state and for mere political purposes by 
Jntichrist. See my Dissertation, vol. ii. p. 395, 396 (1st edit.). 



365 

region between the seas : and St. John even tells us the 
particular part of that country, where this great event 
will happen; informing us, that it is called in the Hebrew 
tongue Armageddon, or the cursing to utter destruction at 
Megiddon. It is remarkable that Zechariah has an allu- 
sion to the same place, which he i nterweaves with his 
account of the penitence manifested by the converted 
Jews. " Their mourning," says he, " shall be like the 
mourning at the vintage- shouting of Rimmon in the val- 
ley of Megiddon." He may, I believe, primarily refer 
to the mourning on account of the overthrow of Josiah, 
which happened in this valley *■ : but, from the peculi- 
arity of his phraseology, I am strongly inclined to think, 
that he ultimately though covertly alludes to the destruc- 
tion of Antichrist. Adopting the metaphorical language 
of Isaiah, language adopted on the same occasion by St. 
John, he directs our attention to the vintage- shouting of 
Rimmon, which is a small town in the valley and neigh- 
bourhood of Megiddon. Hence we may naturally sup- 
pose, that this shouting is the shouting when the vintage 
of God's wrath is gathered in, and when the Almighty 
Word treads the wine-press of the mystic Edom and 
sprinkles his garments with the blood of his enemies, 
The other Rimmon, which the prophet afterwards men- 
tions in connection with Gebaf, is a different town of 
the same name, which lies south-west of Jerusalem. 

The same subject is continued in the 13th chapter. 
When a fountain for sin and for uncleanness is opened 
to the house of David, and when the inhabitants of Jeru- 
salem have availed themselves of the mediatorial sacrifice 
of Christ J, then all idolatry and all false prophets shall 
for ever cease among them. They shall at once enjoy 
the blessings of true religion and temporal security ; for 
in that day the Lord will smite him, who is both their 
oppressor and the enemy of his Church. The sword of 
divine justice shall awake against Antichrist \, against 

* 2 Kings xxiii. 29, 30. f Zechar. xiv. 10. 

t " The blood of Christ, ivhich cleanseth from all sin, is manifestly here 
intended, the Jews being- upon their conversion and repentance to be admit- 
ted to all the privileges of the Christian covenant.? Dr. Hlayney in Loc. 

§ After having- examined this passage as carefully as I am able, I rest in the 
opinion of Dr. Elayney, that it has not the most distanl relation to the death 



366 

that presumptuous shepherd or ruler, that mighty tyrant ; 
who, after having spoken marvellous things against the 
God of gods, at length in the last days, even when the 

■and sufferings of Christ. I believe that our Lord cites a part of it merely as 
a proverbial saying", laying- it down as a matter of course, for the followers 
to disperse when their leader was taken off. The arguments, which Dr. 
Eveleigh brings to prove that the word rvoy denotes the equality and consub- 
stantiality of the Father and the Son, do not appear to me conclusive. The 
word itself signifies a neighbour or fellow-citizen, in which sense it frequently 
occurs in the book of Leviticus. Now, when one man is said to be the neigh- 
bour of another, that they are of the same nature follows indeed of course, but 
certainly not because they are neighbours but because they are men ; that is to 
say, the idea of sameness of nature is incidental, it does not spring out of the 
term neighbour. So again, the circumstance of two men being neighbours or 
fellow-citizens does not prove that those two men are equal or upon the same 
level in society. This being the case, if a person be said for some reason or 
another to be the neighbour of God, I see not how either consubstantiality or 
equality is at all necessarily implied. The subject of the present prophecy is 
the restoration of Judah and the overthrow of a mighty confederacy before Jeru- 
salem. In the course of it we are told, that some shepherd or prince, some 
mighty man who made himself the neighbour of God, should be smitten by 
a sword : that the wrath of the Almighty should be kindled not only against 
him, but against the little ones or mean ones ; or those, as Dr. Blayney justly 
observes, "that are usually held of less account, the common people :" that, 
in consequence of this display of the divine vengeance, such as escaped 
should be scattered : that these scattered ones .should compose the third part 
of the whole, the two other parts having been cut off: and that this third 
part, consisting of the scattered ones, should by the severity of their suffer- 
ings be converted to the profession of the truth. In all this there is so much 
that is applicable to the general drift of the prophecy, and so little that is 
applicable to the times of our Lord, that I think with Dr. Blayney, "perhaps 
the passage in question might never have been considered differently from 
the rest, had not our Saviour thought fit to make use of it for the purpose of 
'illustration." 

A shepherd denotes a prince. But what remarkable prince is to be smitten 
•at the era of the restoration of Judah, except Antichrist now become the last 
head of the Roman beast ? God styles him my shepherd, as he styles Nebuchad- 
nezzar my servant, merely because he is an instrument of vengeance in his 
hand. And he speaks of him as being mighty, and as making himself his 
neighbour, because he attempts as it were to elbow the Almighty out of his 
own peculiar residence, the glorious holy mountain of Zion. I take the idea 
*0 be something similar to that of Milton : 

" The chief were those, who from the pit of hell 

" Roaming to seek their prey on earth durst fix 

" Their seats long after next the seat ofiGod, 

" Their altars by his altar, gods ador'd 

" Among the nations round, and durst abide 

" Jehovah thundering out of Zion, thron'd 

". Between the Cherubim ; yea, often plac'd 

"Within his sanctuary itself their shrines, 

" Abominations ; and with cursed things 

" His holy rites ami solemn feasts profan'd, 

" And with their darkness durst affront hi* light.'* 

This interpretation exactly harmonizes with the general tenor of the pre- 
sent prediction, and with what we are taught to expect by the other inspired 
writers at the eventful period of the restoration ofjudah. Antichrist will then 
place himself in the mount of God. But the sword of the Messiah will speedi- 



367 

judgments of heaven are abroad, dares to make himself 
the immediate neighbour of the Lord, and sets up a new 
abomination of desolation in the peculiar city of the Most 
High, by planting the curtains of his pavilions between 
the seas in the glorious holy mountain*. When the 
shepherd is smitten, such of his flock, as escape the 
avenging sword of him that rideth on the white horse f, 
shall be scattered far and wide ; and, agreeably to the 
parallel prophecy of Isaiah J, shall carry into all nations 
the tidings of their overthrow, and of the marvellous 
manifestation of the power of God. Great however will 
first be the slaughter of them ; for the Lord will turn his 
hands, not only against the leader, but likewise against 
the mean ones, even all his inferior followers. Of the 
whole Antichristian army two thirds shall perish, and one 
third only shall be preserved. This third part shall be 
brought through the fire of affliction to sincere faith and 
repentance ; and every one, that is left of all the nations 
which came against Jerusalem, shall go up from year to 
year to worship the king r the Lord of hosts. But firsts 
as I have just observed, and as we are taught both by 
Isaiah and Zechariah, they will be scattered through all 
countries ; and, carrying wherever they go the wonder- 
ful tidings of their own defeat and of the restoration of 
Judah, they will be made instrumental in bringing about 
also the restoration of Israel. 

In the 14th chapter , which contains a prediction of the 
sacking of Jerusalem, and a more particular account of 
the manner in which the confederacy of Antichrist will 
be overthrown \ ; it is said, that, in the great day of thr 

ly be drawn against him ; and he will come to his end, none being" able to 
help him. His vast armament will be overthrown with dreadful slaughter , 
and such as escape will be scattered over the whole world, and in the severe 
school of adversity will at length be brought to a hearty penitence for thci*' 
past offences. 

* " A new section commences here (Chap. xiii. 7.), but not, I think, a new 
subject of prophecy. For, as far as we can judge of a prophecy before it' 
accomplishment, it appears to be a continuation of the same subject, which 
was entered upon at the beginning of Chap, xii ; namely, the alarming intxa- 
sion of Judah, and siege of Jerusalem, by a numerous body of nations.'"' Dr. 
Bhyney in loc. 

f Rev. xix. 11, 15. * Isaiah lxvi. 19, 20. 

<ij "This chapter goes on to foretell a siege, in which Jerusalem will be 
taken and sacked, and half of its inhabitants carried into captivity, whilst th< 
test will be enabled to stand their ground. In this critical situation the«. 



368 

Lord, there shall not be light, but eold and a thick fog ; 
that it shall be, as it were, neither perfect day nor perfect 
night ; but that in the evening it shall be light. It seems 
most natural to understand these expressions allegori- 
cally . The meaning of them may perhaps be, that, at 
the beginning of the period styled the great day of the 
Lord, the high counsels of God shall not be clearly 
understood. The temporary success of Antichrist, par- 
ticularly his taking Jerusalem even after the conversion 
and penitence of its inhabitants, will throw over them a 
veil of darkness and obscurity. Even the pious may 
begin to doubt, whether the time for the restoration of 
God's ancient people be yet arrived. But, when the 
Lord goeth forth to fight against his enemies, when his 
feet stand upon the mount of Olives, when the hitherto 
victorious legions of Ayitichrist are suddenly cut off in 
the midst of their strength ; then will all darkness be 
removed, then will the purposes of heaven be clearly 
understood, then will the interposition of the Almighty 
be acknowledged. Obscure as the greatest part of that 
wonderful day may be, at evening-time it shall be light. 

When the enemies of God and his people are subdu- 
ed, living waters shall go forth from Jerusalem. The 
children of Israel shall be sown through all nations, and 
shall be greatly instrumental in spreading universally the 
knowledge of the truth. Every one then shall have 
an opportunity afforded him of drinking of the waters 
of life. 

The prophecy concludes with foretelling the holiness 
mid happiness of the Millennium, when the Lord shall be 
king over all the earth. It intermingles however with 

will be relieved by the arm of divine power, exerting itself wonderfully in 
their behalf, and attended with the most beneficial consequences ; such as 
living" waters going forth out of Jerusalem ; the name and majesty of the 
true God acknowledged through the whole earth; and the entire re-establish- 
ment of Jerusalem in security. In the mean time, the hostile invaders, debi- 
litated by sickness, thrown into confusion, and falling foul upon each other, 
will yield themselves and their wealth an easy conquest to the assailing Jews. 
After this a conformity in religious worship will be required of all the nations 
under a severe penalty ; and all things in Judah and Jerusalem, from the least 
to the greatest, shall thenceforward be accounted holy. Such are the great 
outlines of this extraordinary prophecy ; to fill up which with any tolerable 
certainty, it will be necessary perhaps "to wait the times of its accomplish- 
went." Dr. Blavnev in loc. 



369 

these promises of general felicity an oblique intimation, 
that some will, notwithstanding such visible tokens of 
divine interposition, fall away from the faith even of the 
Millennian Church. A plague is denounced against such 
families of the earth as shall refuse to come up to Jeru- 
salem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts : whence 
it is natural to infer, that some families will withhold the 
adoration which is due from them. Accordingly we are 
told very particularly by Ezekiel and St. John, in their 
prophecies concerning those last rebels against God 
whom they agree in calling Gog and Magog, that this 
will certainly be the case. But the last confederacy will 
be overthrown like the former confederacy ; and the 
Church will at length be translated from earth to heaven. 



PROPHECY XLI. 

The restoration of the Jews at the close of the times of the 
Gentiles. 

Luke xxi. 20. When ye shall see Jerusalem compass- 
ed with armies, then know, that the desolation thereof is 
nigh. 21. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the 
mountains ; and let them which are in the midst of it 
depart out ; and let not them that are in the countries 
enter thereinto. 22. For these be the days of vengeance, 
that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23. But 
woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give 
suck in those days ! for there shall be great distress in 
the land, and wrath upon this people. 24. And they shall 
fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led awa'y cap- 
tive into all nations : and Jerusalem shall be trodden 
down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be 
fulfilled. 

COMMENTARY. 

In these words of our Lord, we have an oblique though 
a decisive prediction that the Jews shall be restored. 
Having foretold, that Jerusalem shall be besieged and 

47 



370 

taken by the Romans, and that the Jews shall be led 
away captive into all nations, Christ adds, that Jerusa- 
lem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times 
of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Hence we must necessarily 
infer, that, so soon as the times of the Gentiles are ful- 
filled, Jerusalem shall cease to be trodden down by them, 
and the scattered Jews shall be restored to their own land. 

What is meant by the times of the Gentiles is suf- 
ficiently plain from the circumstance of the expiration of 
those times being coupled in point of chronology with 
the return ofJudah. When Judah begins to be restored, 
the 1260 years will be finished, and the judgments of 
God will go forth against the Roman empire under its 
fast head. Hence it follows, as Bp. Newton observes, 
that " the times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled, when the 
times of the four great kingdoms of the Gentiles accord- 
ing to Daniel's prophecies shall be expired, and the fifth 
kingdom or the kingdom of Christ shall be set up in 
their place, and the saints of the Most High shall take 
the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even 
for ever and ever *." 

"Whether the remarkable hieroglyphical passage f , 
which succeeds this prophecy, may be applied to the 
times of the second advent, or whether it must be con- 
fined to the figurative coming of our Lord in judgment 
against Jerusalem when it was sacked by the Romans, 
depends entirely, as it appears to me, upon the meaning 
of the word generation in the adverse. " Verily I say 
unto you, this generation shall not pass away, till all be 
fulfilled J." If generation here denote a generation of 
contemporary men, it seems unwarrantable to extend the 
prediction, relative to the coming of the Son of man, to 
the second advent ; when Christ so expressly tells us, 
that both it, and his preceding literal prediction of the 
sacking of Jerusalem, will be accomplished ere the then 
existing generation shall have passed away. But, if with 
Mr. Mede we suppose it to denote a nation or people, as 
the word y*«* undoubtedly may do, and if by this nation 

* Bp. Newton's Dissert. XX. f Luke xxi. 25—28. 

i The same declaration occurs, and in the same part of the prediction, in 
the parallel prophecies recorded by St. Mathew and St. Mark, though neither 
of those evangelists mention the implied promise of the restoration of Judah, 



371 

we understand with him the nation of the Jews ; we are 
then at liberty to extend the prophecy to the times of 
the second advent. In that case, our Lord's declaration, 
when paraphrased, would amount to this : "I solemnly 
assure you, that, notwithstanding this people shall be led 
away captive into all nations, and their capital city trod- 
den under foot until the times of the Gentiles shall be 
accomplished; yet they shall in no wise pass away; they 
shall in no wise lose their separate existence ; but shall 
be wonderfully preserved in the land of their dispersion 
a distinct and unmixing nation, till all be fulfilled, till a 
series of tremendous political revolutions has ushered in 
my second advent, till I appear in the clouds of heaven 
pouring down vengeance upon Antichrist and his confe- 
derated multitudes ." I believe it to be almost an axiom 
in prophetic interpretation, that there is scarcely a pre- 
diction relative to the first advent which does not look 
forward ultimately to the second advent ; and certainly 
no prediction seems more worthy of such an extension 
than that of our Lord himself, provided only we be war- 
ranted in thus extending it by his assertion that " this 
generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled." That 
the prediction primarily relates to the siege of Jerusalem , 
no one I apprehend will be disposed to deny ; and I think 
tve may venture to add, that our Lord himself elsewhere 
seems peculiarly to direct our attention to this event. 
He declares, that the disciples " shall not have gone oyer 
the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come*;" and. 
in another place, yet more explicitly, that some of those 
very disciples " shall not taste of death, till they see the 
Son of man coming in his kingdom -J-." Assertions like 
these, plainly delivered in allusion to his subsequent pro- 
phecy, lead one to doubt the propriety of Mr. Mede's 
exposition of the w T ord generation, and incline one rather 
to think that its most obvious meaning is that intended by 
our Lord. If then it do mean simply a generation of co- 
existing men, we are scarcely warranted in extending the 
prediction to the times of the second advent. It is in this 
sense that Bp. Newton takes the word, and thence very 

* Matt. x. 23. 

f Matt. xyi. 28. See also Mark ix. 1. and Luke is. °~ 



372 

naturally argues as I have done. " It is to me a wonder,' * 
' says he, " how any man can refer part of the foregoing 
discourse to the destruction of 'Jerusalem , and part to the 
end of the world or any other distant event, when it is 
said so positively here in the conclusion, All things shall 
he fulfilled in this generation. It seemeth as if our Sa- 
viour had been aware of some such misapplication of his 
words, by adding yet greater force and emphasis to his 
affirmation, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my 
word shall not pass away — In another place he says, 
There are some standing here, who shall not taste of 
death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom : 
intimating, that it would not succeed immediately, and 
yet not at such a distance of time, but that some then 
living should be spectators of the calamities coming upon 
the nation." Yet does his Lordship afterwards, not very 
consistently with his prior remarks, suppose the prophecy 
ultimately to relate to the end of the world and the day of 
judgment. He observes, what no doubt is perfectly true, 
that " it is usual with the prophets to frame and express 
their prophecies so, as that they shall comprehend more 
than one event, and have their several periods of comple- 
tion." But, if our Lord expressly limit this prediction 
to the siege of Jerusalem, as he certainly does, if with the 
Bishop we suppose generation to mean a generation of 
co-existent men, what right have we, contrary to his own 
declaration, to extend it to the end of the world* ? 

But, in whatever sense we are to understand that part 
of the prophecy, which speaks of signs in the sun and in 
the moon and in the stars, of distress of nations, of the 
roaring of the sea and the waves, of the shaking of the 
powers of heaven, and of the Son of man coming in the 
clouds ; whether we are to understand it limitedly as re- 
ferring solely to the destruction of Jerusalem and the wars 
which preceded it, or extendedly as referring likewise to 
the awful political revolutions of the last times which 
according to the general voice of prophecy will usher in 
the second advent : in whatever sense, I say, we are to 

* See Bp. Newton's Dissert. XXI. The reader will find the whole of 
Mr. Mede's scheme of interpretation in his Works, Book iv. Epist. xii. p 

752, 753. 



i o 



understand it, there is no ambiguity, or difficulty in our 
Lord's explicit declaration, that the Jews shall be scat- 
tered through all nations, and that Jerusalem shall be 
trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gen- 
tiles shall be fulfilled. Since this prediction was delivered, 
the Jews have been led away captive by the Romans, 
and to this present hour continue dispersed over the face 
of the whole earth. Jerusalem has never ceased to be 
trodden down of the Gentiles ; being successively occu- 
pied by the Romans, the Persians, the Saracens, the 
Turks of the Selzuccian race, the Egyptian caliphs, the 
Latin Christians, the Egyptian caliphs a second time, the 
Mamalucs, and the Turks of the Ottoman race. These 
last are its present masters ; and ere the times of the 
GentUes are fulfilled, it is destined likewise to be trodden 
down by Antichrist. But, when those times are fulfilled, 
then it will cease to be trodden down ; and, after all the 
political changes which it has witnessed, will once more 
revert to its ancient possessors, the children of Judah. 
Thus are the Jews themselves, through the whole period 
both of their dispersion and restoration, a standing evi- 
dence of the divine mission of him, whom they refuse to 
acknowledge as the promised Messiah. 



PROPHECY XLII. 

The restoring of the kingdom to Israel. 

Acts i. 6. When they therefore were come together, 
they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time- 
restore again the kingdom to Israel ? And he said unto 
them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons. 
which the Father hath put in his own power. 

COMMENTARY. 

This is another oblique prediction of the restoration of 
Israel. Our Lord does not answer the question of his 
disciples, by telling them that they were completely mis- 
taken in their belief that the kingdom would be restored 



374 

to Israel, but only by informing them that it was not for 
them to know the times or the seasons; thus tacitly allow- 
ing that such a restoration would, sooner or later, assur- 
edly take place *. 

We are at present in just the same state of uncertainty 
that they were, respecting the precise era of this great 
event. For, although we know in general, as they like- 
wise might have known, that Judah will begin to be re- 
stored at the end of the 1260 years ; yet, in particular, 
we cannot be positive respecting the true date of those 
1260 years ; we can merely pitch upon such a one as 
appears to us most probable ; the event alone can bring 
certainty to men, for the Father hath put in his own 
power the times and the seasons. To myself the year 
606 appears the proper date : but, after all, it is very 
possible that I may be quite mistaken, as Mr. Mede and 
other of my predecessors have been before me. 



PROPHECY XLIII. 

The present rejection and final conversion of. the Jews, when the 
fulness of the Gentiles shall have come. 

Romans xi. 1. I say then, Hath God cast away his 
people ? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite of the 
seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2. God 
hath not cast away his people which he foreknew — 11. I 
say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God 
forbid : but rather through their fall salvation is come 
unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. 
12. Now, if the fall of them be the riches of the world, 

* They seem to have expected, that, when the Spirit was in "so extraor- 
dinary a manner poured out, and the world according" to Christ's prediction 
(John xvi. 8.) convinced of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, the whole 
nation of the Jews would own him for the Messiah, and so not only shake off 
its subjection to the Romans, but itself rise to very extensive and perhaps 
universal dominion. The word cwrox.oi6irecvei$ intimates the shattered and 
weakened state, in which Israel now was. And I cannot but think our Lord's 
answer may intimate, it should at length be restored, though not immedi- 
ately, or with all the circumstances they imagined ; which concession seems 
the most satisfactory answer to Rabbi Isaac's objection against Christianity, 
from his mistaken sense of these words." Dr. Doddridge's Comment, in loc. 



375 

and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles ; 
how much more their fulness ? 13. For I speak to you, 
Gentiles ; inasmuch as I am the Apostle of the Gentiles, 
I magnify mine office : 14. If by any means I may pro- 
voke to emulation them which are my flock, and might 
save some of them. 15. For, if the casting away of them 
be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving 
of them be, but life from the dead? 16. For, if the first- 
fruit be holy, the lump is also holy : and, if the root be 
holy, so are the branches. 17. And, if some of the 
branches be broken off, and thou being a wild olive-tree 
wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of 
the root and fatness of the olive-tree; 18. Boast not 
against the branches. But, if thou boast, thou bearest not 
the root, but the root thee. 19. Thou wilt say then, The 
branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. 
20. Well ; because of unbelief they were broken off*, 6 
and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but 
fear. 21. For, if God spared not the natural branches, 
take heed lest he also spare not thee. 22. Behold there- 
fore the goodness and severity of God : on them which 
fell, severity ; but toward thee, goodness ; otherwise 
thou also shalt be cut off. 23. And they also, if they 
abide not in unbelief, shall be graffed in : for God is 
able to graff them in again. 24. For, if thou wert cut 
out of the olive-tree which is wild by nature, and wert 
graffed contrary to nature into a good olive-tree ; how 
much more shall these, which be the natural branches, 
be graffed into their own olive-tree. 

25. For I would not, brethren, that ye should be igno- 
rant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own 
conceits ; That blindness in part has happened to Israel, 
until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 25. And 
so all Israel shall be saved : as it is written, There shall 
come out of Zion the deliverer, and shall turn away un- 
godliness from Jacob. 27. For this is my covenant unto 
them, when I shall take away their sins. 28. As con- 
cerning the Gospel, they arc enemies for your sakes : 
but, as touching the election, they are beloved for the 
fathers' sakes. 29. For the gifts and calling of God arc 
without repentance. 30. For, as ye in times past have 



376 

not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through 
their unbelief; 31. even so have these also now not be- 
lieved, that through your mercy they also may obtain 
mercy. 32. For God hath concluded them all in unbe- 
lief, that he might have mercy upon all. 

33. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and 
knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are his judg- 
ments, and his ways past finding out ! 

COMMENTARY. 

The whole mystery of the call of the Gentiles ', the re- 
jection oj the unbelieving and Jexvs, and the final conver- 
sion of their posterity in the last ages, is here very fully 
and explicitly set forth. The Jews were rejected of God, 
because they rejected and crucified the Messiah. But, 
when the fulness of the Gentiles shall have come in, or, as 
our Lord expresses it, when the times of the Gentiles 
shall be fulfilled ; that is to say, when the times of the 
four great monarchies of the Gentiles shall have expired, 
and when the three times and a half shall have come 
to their close : then shall the natural branches, now no 
longer abiding in unbelief, be grafted into the good olive- 
tree of the Church. 

The events of the day shew, that the coming in of the 
fulness of the Gentiles cannot be very remote ; for the 
last times of atheism and infidelity, so minutely described 
and predicted by the apostolical prophets *, have indis- 
putably commenced: but the times of the Gentiles are not 
yet altogether fulfilled, their fulness is not yet perfectly 
come in; because we still behold Jerusalem trodden 
down of the Gentiles. Nevertheless, when the appointed 
three times and a half shall have expired, the Lord will 
assuredly begin a wonderful work in the earth. He will 
go forth in his wrath, and cut off those ingraffed branch- 
es that have not continued in his goodness : and at length, 
after the destruction of Antichrist is completed, all Israel, 
in both his great divisions, shall be converted and saved. 
Glorious will be the inauguration of the Millennial! 
Church ! If the fall of the Jews have been hitherto the 

* See my Dissert, on the 1260 years. Chap. 3. 



377 

riches of the world ; and the diminishing of them, the 
riches of the Gentiles : how much more their fulness I 
In the hand of God, they shall be a most powerful 
instrument of spreading the Gospel through all nations. 
The harvest of the first advent shall not be comparable 
to the harvest of the second advent. For the name of 
Christ shall be known from the east to the west ; and his 
praises shall be heard in the utmost parts of the earth. 
Israel shall be made the seed of the Church ; and thus, 
from first to last, will prove the true Jezrael of God*. 

I think it right to observe, that Mr. Medc, Dr. Whit- 
by, and Dr. Doddridge, have given an interpretation of 
the coming in of the fulness of the Gentiles, different from 
that which I have done. By this phrase they understand 
the great conversion of the Gentiles to Christianity at the 
time of the second advent : but, in adopting such an inter- 
pretation, they do not seem to have sufficiently consider- 
ed the order of events. We learn from St. Paul, that 
what he terms the fulness of the Gentiles is to come in 
previous f to the general conversion and restoration of 
Israel: whereas the second great harvest of the Church, 
or the universal conversion of the Gentiles to the faith, 
is to be posterior to it, and in a great measure the conse- 
quence of it. Antichrist is first to be overthrown, and the 
whole house of Israel to be brought back both to their 
own land and the fold of the Church : then, and not till 
then, the general conversion of the Gentiles is to take 
place. In short, how can the Jews be made instruments 
of converting others, how can they become the seed of 
the Millennial! Church, unless they themselves be first 
converted? But the fulness of the Gentiles comes in 
before the conversion of the house of Israel : therefore it 
cannot denote the conversion of the Gentiles, which will 
not be accomplished till afterwards, and that by the in- 
strumentality of the now converted Israelites, as we are 
repeatedly taught in various prophecies. It is somewhat 
remarkable, that Dr. Doddridge does not seem to be 

*Hoseai. ll.ii. 22,23. 

f " Blindness in part hath happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gen- 
tiles be come in." Whence it is plain, that the fulness of the Gentiles must 
first come in ; and afterwards the blindness of Israel be removed. 
48 



578 

aware how much he contradicts himself, when, in ano- 
ther note on this same prediction of St. Paul, he very 
justly remarks, that, when the restoration and conversion 
of the Jews " shall be accomplished, it will be so unpa- 
ralleled, as necessarily to excite a general attention, and 
to fix upon men's minds such an almost irresistible de- 
monstration both of the Old and New Testament revela- 
tion, as will probably captivate the minds of many thou - 
sands of deists in countries professedly Christian : nor 
will this only captivate their understanding, but will have 
the greatest tendency to awaken a sense of true religion 
in their hearts : and this will be a means of propagating 
the Gospel with an amazing velocity in Pagan and Mo- 
hammedan countries." How can all this be the conse- 
quence of the restoration of Israel, if the general conver- 
sion of the Gentiles (supposing such to be the import of 
-St. Paul's expression the coming in of the fulness of the 
Gentiles) take place before Israel is restored? Mr. Mede 
is liable to the very same charge of self-contradiction #, 
and, what is yet more, of absolute inconsistency. For, 
while in one part of his works he explains the phrase to 
mean the conversion of the Gentiles, he elsewhere suppo- 
ses it to be parallel to that of our Lord the fulfilling of "the 
times of the Gentiles, which he rightly conceives to de- 
note the end of the last great monarchy at the termination 
of the three times and a half\. Bp. Newton is guilty of 
much the same inconsistency. He teaches us, that the 

* Compare his works, p. 197, 891, 892. 

| " Because the Jews are not yet called, it followeth that the fulness of the 
Gentiles is yet to come : and what then should this fulness be, but the fulness 
of the Gospel's extent over all the nations of the world?— 

"Some think, that St. Paul in this place hath reference unto that speech 
of Christ (Luke xxi. 24.), where he foretells, that the Jews should fall by the 
edge of the sword, and be led captive into all nations, and Jerusalem should be 
trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles should be fulfilled or 
accomplished. But it seems to me, that the fulness of the Gentiles and the ful- 
filling or accomplishment of their times should not be the same, howsoever 
they may be coincident. " Mede's Works, Disc, xxxvi. p. 197. 

Here Mr. Mede de?iies the parallelism of the two phrases. 

'* The Jews shall be carried away captive over all nations, and Jerusalem shall 
be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled : that is, 
until the monarchies of the Gentiles should be finished. For these times of 
the Gentiles are that last period of the fourth kingdom prophesied of; a time, 
times, and half a time ; at the end whereof the angel swears unto Daniel 
•(Chap. xii. 7.), that God should accomplish to scatter the power of the holy people , 
This is ihaXfahiess of the Gentiles, which being come, St. Paul tells us, tM 



379 

fulfilling of the times of the Gentiles means the expiration 
of the times of the four great kingdoms of the Gentiles 
when the last of them shall be overthrown, and that the 
coming in of the fulness of the Gentiles signifies their 
general conversion; and yet he represents, like myself, 
the two phrases as being parallel to each other *. 

The common application of St. Paul's expression to the 
conversion of the Gentiles, seems principally to have arisen 
from the word ««Atoi, shall come in ; as if it related to the 
Gentiles coming into the Church. But it by no means 
necessarily bears any such sense. It may with equal 
propriety be translated shall take place or shall happen f . 
In this case therefore the whole phrase would be, Until 
the fulness (namely of the times) of the Gentiles shall take 
place or arrive, u^p^x is the parallel substantive to the 
verb used by our Lord in St. Luke J . Accordingly, it 
is elsewhere employed by the inspired writers to denote 
fulness of time \, 



PROPHECY XLIV. 

The visible manifestation of Christ to confound Antichrist. 

Rev. i. 7. Behold he cometh with clouds ; and every 
eye shall see him : and they which pierced him : and all 
kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even 
so, Amen. 

Deliverer shall come out of Zion, and all Israel shall be saved. Rom. si. 26.'* 
Works B. ili. Treatise on Daniel's Weeks, p. 709. 

Here, if I mistake not, he asserts their parallelism. 

* " The times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled, when the times of the four 
great kingdoms of the Gentiles according' to Daniel's prophecies shall be 
expired, and the fifth kingdom or the kingdom of Christ shall be set up in their 
place.— Jerusalem, as it hath hitherto remained, so probably will remain, in 
subjection to the Gentiles, until these times of the Gentiles be fulfilled ; or, as 
St. Paul expresseth it, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, and so all 
Israel shall be saved, and become again the people of God. The fulness of the 
"Jews will come in, as well as the fulness of the Gentiles." Dissert, xx. at the 
end. 

f As in Luke ix. 46. % Luke xxi. 24. 

fl See Eph.es. i. 10. Gal. iv. 4. 



380 



COMMENTARY. 



These words contain an evident allusion to a prophecy 
of Zechariah relative to the restoration and conversion of 
the Jews *. Like that prediction, they certainly give us 
reason to believe, that there will be a visible manifestation 
of the Lord, at the period when Antichrist is overthown, 
and the Jews are resettled in their own land. This awful 
manifestation St. John afterwards describes at large f. 
Here he briefly tells us, that all the kindreds of the earth, 
meaning I suppose the great confederacy of the Latin 
earth or Roman empire, shall wail because of the Mes- 
siah ; that every eye shall see him ; and that they also 
which pierced him, the lately unbelieving but now peni- 
tent Jews, shall look upon him. Amen. Even so come, 
Lord Jesus % I 

CONCLUSION. 

Such are the various prophecies which treat of the 
restoration of Israel and the overthrow of Antichrist, and 
such are the conclusions which I have thought myself 
warranted in deducing from them. It is obvious, that 
in expounding Scripture we must not make some parts 
of it contradict others. This is the principle, on which 
I have proceeded in the present work ; and it is the only 
principle by which a consistent interpretation can be pro- 
duced. Some prophecies teach us, that the children of 
Israel will be restored in a converted state ; others, that 
they will be restored in an unconverted state : some, that 
they will be restored contemporaneously with the last 
expedition of Antichrist ; others, that they will be restor- 
ed after his overthrow and in consequence of the tidings 
of it which will be carried among all nations by such as 
escape from that great catastrophe : some, that they will 
be restored by the instrumentality of a maritime nation 
oj faithful worshippers ; others, that they will be restored 
by the instrumentality of a tyrannical power which offi- 
ciously intermeddles in the concerns of its weaker neigh- 

* Zechar. xii. 10. f Rev. xiv. It— 20. xix, 11—21. 

i Rev. xxii. 2t>„ 



381 

bours, and of which Ashur or Babylon was a type : in 
short, some, that they will be restored in a time of unex- 
ampled trouble, and that they will suffer veiy severely 
as their forefathers did during their exodus from Egypt ; 
others, that they will be restored in much joy, and tran- 
quillity, and will be brought back with great honour by 
the nations among which they are dispersed. These dif- 
ferent matters appear at first sight contradictory : and yet, 
since they are all foretold by the same spirit of God, they 
all rest upon the same divine authority. We must there- 
fore believe that they will all come to pass. Hence a 
commentator cannot be uselessly employed, who en- 
deavours to remove their apparent contradictoriness, and 
to exhibit them as perfectly harmonizing with each other. 

If we adopt the scheme, which I have attempted to 
establish in the preceding pages, this contradictoriness 
undoubtedly will be removed ; and, whether I be right 
in every particular or not, it will at least have been shewn, 
that each prediction is capable of receiving its full accom- 
plishment without jarring with other seemingly opposite 
predictions. Thus, in interpreting these various prophe- 
cies, there is no inconsistency in supposing, that Judah 
will be restored contemporaneously with the Antichris- 
tian expedition, and that Joseph and his brethren of the 
ten tribes will be restored subsequently to it ; that Judah 
will be restored partly in a converted and partly in an 
unconverted state, partly by some great maritime power 
and partly by Antichrist; that, being thus restored in the 
midst of wars and tumults, he will suffer very severely ; 
and that the ten tribes, being restored after the downial 
of Antichrist and consequently after the ceasing of those 
wars and tumults, will return in peace and tranquillity to 
the land of their fathers. I presume not indeed to say, 
that my interpretation must in all points be necessarily 
the true one, for positive knowledge can only spring out 
of the event : but this I certainly will say, that the differ- 
ent prophecies themselves are in no wise inconsistent, 
because even before their accomplishment they are capa- 
ble of being reduced to perfect harmony* 

The subject is a very awful one, particularly in times 
like the present, when the judgments of God are so mani- 



382 

festly abroad in the earth. My wish- has been to turn 
the attention of all, both Christians and Jews, to tho^e 
predictions which I have collected together, and upon 
which I have commented : for all are most deeply con- 
cerned in their accomplishment. I may add, that we of 
this great protestant maritime nation are peculiarly inter- 
ested ; for it certainly is not impossible, that we may be 
the messenger -people described by Isaiah as destined to 
take a very conspicuous part in the conversion and resto- 
ration of Judah. Hitherto we have been preserved, a 
column in the midst of surrounding ruins. While mighty 
empires totter to their base, and while Antichrist advances 
with rapid strides to his predicted sovereignty over the 
enslaved kings of the Roman earth ; we, through the bles- 
sing of divine Providence, have attained to a pitch of naval 
preeminence unknown and unexampled in former ages. 
Such being our present circumstances, it is no less our 
interest as politicians, than our duty as Christians, to 
endeavour, each according to our opportunity and mea- 
sure, to promote the conversion of the house of Judah. 
Whatever may be our success, and whether we be the 
predicted messenger-people or not, of this at least we may 
assure ourselves, that no labour of love, undertaken for 
the sake of extending Christ's spiritual kingdom, will be 
unrequited by our divine master. Should this work be 
made instrumental through the blessing of God in open- 
ing the eyes of a single individual of the lost sheep of the 
house of Israel, the author will not have laboured in vain. 

I cannot conclude with greater propriety than in the 
words of Bp. Newton. 

"The Jews were once the peculiar people of God: and 
as St. Paul saith, Hath God cast away his people ? God 
forbid. We see, that after so many ages they are still 
preserved by a miracle of Providence a distinct people : 
and why is such a continual miracle exerted, but for the 
greater illustration of the divine truth, and the better 
accomplishment of the divine promises, as well those 
which are yet to be, as those which are already, fulfilled ? 
We see that the great empires, which in their turns sub- 
dued and oppressed the people of God, are all come to 
ruin; because, though they executed the purposes of 



38.3 

God, yet that was more than they understood : all that 
they intended was to satiate their own pride and ambition, 
their own cruelty and revenge. And, if such hath been 
the fatal end of the enemies and oppressors of the Jews, 
let it serve as a warning to all those, who at any time or 
upon any occasion are for raising a clamour and persecu- 
tion against them. They are blameable no doubt for 
persisting in their infidelity after so many means of con- 
viction ; but that is no warrant or authority for us to pro- 
scribe, to abuse, injure, and oppress them, as Christians 
of more zeal than either knowledge or charity have in all 
ages been too apt to do. Charity is greater than faith : 
and it is worse in us to be cruel and uncharitable, than it 
is in them to be obstinate and unbelieving. Persecution 
is the spirit of Popery ; and in the worst of popish coun- 
tries the Jews are the most cruelly used and persecuted : 
the spirit of Protestantism is toleration and indulgence to 
weaker consciences. Compassion to this unhappy peo - 
pie is not to defeat the prophecies : for only wicked 
nations were to harrass and oppress them, the good were 
to shew mercy to them ; and we should choose rather to 
be the dispensers of God's mercies, than the execution- 
ers of his judgments. Read the Wth chapter of the 
Epistle to the Romans; and see what the great apostle of 
the Gentiles, who certainly understood the prophecies bet- 
ter than any'of us can pretend to do, saith of the infidelity of 
the Jews, Some of the Gentiles of his time valued them- 
selves upon their superior advantages ; and he reproves 
them for it, that they, who were cat out of the olive-tree 
which is wild by nature, and were graffed contrary to na- 
ture into a good olive-tree, should presume to boast against 
the natural branches : but what would he have said, how' 
would he have flamed and lightened, if they had made reli- 
gion an instrument of faction, and had been for stirring up 
a persecution against them? We should consider,. that to 
them we owe the oracles of God, the scriptures of the 
New Testament as well as the Old ; we should consider 
that the glorious company of the apostles and the goodly 
fellowship of the prophets were Jexvs; we should consider, 
that of them as concerning the fesh Christ came, the Sa - 
viour of the world : and surely something of kindness and 



384 

gratitude is due for such infinite obligations. Though 
they are now broken oft', yet they are not utterly cast away. 
Because of unbelief, as St. Paul argues, they were broken 
off, and thou standest by faith ; be not high-minded, but 
fear. There will be a time, when they will be grafted 
in again, and again become the people of God ; for, as 
the apostle proceeds, / would not, brethren, that ye should 
be ignorant of this mystery (lest ye should be wise in your 
own conceits J that blindness in part has happened to Israel, 
until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in ; and so all 
Israel shall be saved. And which (think ye) is the most 
likely method to contribute to their conversion, which 
are the most natural means of reconciling them to us and 
our religion, prayer, argument, long-suffering, gentleness, 
goodness ; or noise and invective, injury and outrage, 
the malice of some, and the folly and madness of more ? 
They cannot be worse than when they crucified the Son 
of God, and persecuted his apostles : but what saith our 
Saviour? Father, forgive them, for they know not what 
they do : what saith his apostle St. Paul ? Brethren, my 
heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they 
might be saved. In conformity to these blessed examples 
our church hath also taught us to pray for them ; and 
how can prayer and persecution consist and agree toge- 
ther? They are only pretended friends to the church, but 
real enemies to religion, who encourage persecution of 
any kind. All true sons of the church, all true protes- 
tants, all true Christians, will, as the apostle adviseth, 
put away all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and cla- 
mour, and evil-speaking, xvith all malice ; and will join 
heart and voice in that excellent collect — Have mercy 
upon all Jews, Turks, infidels, and heretics, and take from 
them all ignorance, hardness of heart, and contempt of 
thy word: and so fetch them home, blessed Lord, to thy 
flock, that they may be saved among the remnant of the 
true Israelites-, and be made one fold under one shepherd, 
Jesus Christ our Lord*." 

* Bp. Newton's Dissert, viii. 5. 



FINIS. 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: May 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

111 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township. PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



"8 






LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




014 241 525 2 



H 



MB 



I ■■ 



1 ■ 



■ ■' , >■ 



W 



■■I 



■■ 



> ' : » : 



■ 






■1 



T 






I 



1 1 

ml 

I ■ 

■■ 



■■1 



ihuhs 



n -^ 



■^■H 
■ 



lliH 



HtJlftfB 






HIHI 



■■■■■II 



IfflHil 



nffiffinflM ■ 



